Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025)

Amy picked this for our annual Christmas day movie and all three of us liked a lot the yarn with Josh O'Connor and Josh Brolin as upstate New York priests and Daniel Craig returning to the franchise as the Southern detective assigned to solve the crime. The outstanding ensemble cast includes Glenn Close, Mila Kunis (both wonderfully unglamorous), Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Daryl McCormack, Thomas Haden Church, and Jeffrey Wright.

Rian Johnson writes and directs and his brother Nathan Johnson is the composer, just as they did for the last two Knives Out mysteries. I'm streaming the soundtrack on Apple Music as I write.

We're not bible scholars, so we looked up the meaning of the the road to Damascus, referenced in the movie. Apparently it indicates a flash of insight and includes a blinding light. That tidbit is not included in imdb's list of 35 interesting trivia items. Cinematographer Steve Yedlin  occasionally incorporates blinding light into his work here.

"A Knives Out Mystery" is not in the official title, but was very useful for marketing this third installment. Amy, Jack, and I saw the previous one on Christmas day in 2022 as part of our holiday tradition of a Christmas day movie, every year since 2006 (except 2020).

O'Connor was last blogged for Challengers, Brolin for Dune, Craig, both Johnsons, and Yedlin for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Close for Swan Song, Kunis for The Spy Who Dumped Me, Renner for Arrival, Washington for The Prom, Scott for All of Us Strangers, McCormack for Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, Church for Acidman, and Wright for Highest 2 Lowest.

Rotten Tomatoes are reanimated with averages of 92 and 93%. Amy, Jack, and I streamed it on Netflix on, as promised, December 25.