Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

2025 Netflix

Rated: PG-13

Length: 2 hr 24min

Comedy ~ Crime ~ Drama ~ Mystery ~ Thriller ~ Whodunnit

Starring: Daniel Craig, Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, and Thomas Haden Church.

Benoit Blanc Is Back!

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery pulls Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) into his darkest case yet, summoned to a tight-knit rural community gripped by scandal after the shocking death of the fiery, domineering leader of the local Church Priest Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin).

The prime suspects are:

Rev. Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor), a troubled young priest and former boxer
Martha Delacroix ( Glenn Close), the devout widow and church pillar
Chief Geraldine Scott (Mila Kunis), the local police head
Dr. Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner), a divorced physician
Vera Draven (Kerry Washington), a slick lawyer
Lee Ross (Andrew Scott), a reclusive author
Simone Vivane (Cailee Spaeny), a pained former cellist
Cy Draven (Daryl McCormack), an ambitious politico
Samson Holt (Thomas Haden Church), the groundskeeper

They all weave a tense net of alibis, grudges, and histories amid Sunday services and midnight reckonings that expose abuses and shattered vows. What starts as a tidy whodunit spirals through labyrinthine twists, feints within feints, alibis that devour each other, revelations that flip loyalties upside down, and a mid-film bombshell that redefines every suspect’s soul, culminating in a finale as merciless and mind-melting as Blanc’s previous cases, all without a single predictable step. The mystery tightens around these players, pushing Blanc into moral gray zones the prior films merely grazed.

Where Knives Out skewered privilege and Glass Onion mocked tech excess, Wake Up Dead Man excavates power, belief, and institutional weapons. It plays like a gothic church whodunnit, playful and twisty, but heavier emotionally with brutal fallout when truths erupt. Classic puzzle joys (alibis, herrings, reveals) persist, yet it probes who earns forgiveness or escapes when the “godly” circle wagons.

Craig continues to have a blast as Benoit Blanc, but this time the charm and drawl hide a man genuinely shaken by what he uncovers. The case forces Blanc to confront not just who committed the crime, but what kind of world keeps letting the same patterns repeat, giving him some of his most haunted and introspective moments in the Knives Out trilogy. Yet even in the darkest scenes, Craig threads in just enough wry humor and observational wit to keep Blanc feeling like the same eccentric detective fans love, now pushed to his limits instead of simply amused by human folly.

True to the series, the ensemble is loaded with memorable suspects and side players, each with sharp, specific motives and grudges that gradually peel back as the investigation deepens. Performances bounce between fervent righteousness, brittle denial, and raw vulnerability, underscoring how faith, shame, and community pressure can twist people in different directions. The dynamic between the younger characters and the older “pillars” of the town is especially juicy, framing the mystery as a generational clash over who gets to define truth and morality. Josh O’Connor’s brooding Jud steals scenes as faith’s black sheep; Glenn Close’s Martha and Josh Brolin’s Wicks embody belief’s sharp edges.

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is highly recommended for anyone who loved the first two films and is ready for a darker, more emotionally loaded spin on Blanc’s world. It keeps the clever structure, rug-pull twists, and character-driven revelations that made the other two movies a hit, while pushing deeper into messy questions about belief, justice, and who gets to walk away clean when the dust settles. You know what Bobby says:

Turn off the lights and devices,

Make some popcorn,

Grab a beverage,

and

Stream This Movie!

Knives Out

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery Debuts on NETFLIX Friday December 12, 2025

Benoit Blanc Is Back!

New mystery, new cast, same sleuth!

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery hits Netflix this Friday, December 12, 2025, bringing Benoit Blanc back for his darkest and twistiest case yet. Daniel Craig returns as the legendary Southern sleuth, drawn into a chilling new mystery tied to a small-town church, buried sins, and a death that refuses to stay in the past. With a moodier, more gothic tone than Knives Out and Glass Onion, this new chapter promises razor-sharp turns, rich atmosphere, and the kind of slow-burn suspense that’s perfect for a December movie night.

Joined by a stacked ensemble cast—including Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, and more—Blanc finds himself surrounded by liars, believers, and survivors, each hiding something worth killing for. As secrets rise to the surface and loyalties splinter, the question isn’t just who did it, but what waking the dead will cost everyone involved. Queue it up on Netflix this Friday and let the guessing game begin.

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery ~ Photo by John Wilson ~ Courtesy of NETFLIX

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery ~ PHOTO BY FRANK OCKENFELS ~ Courtesy of NETFLIX

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery ~ Movie Poster ~ Courtesy of NETFLIX

28 Weeks Later

2007 20th Century Fox

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 39min

Drama ~ Horror ~ Post-Apocalyptic ~ Sci-Fi ~ Thriller

Directed by: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo

Starring: Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner, Harold Perrineau, Imogen Poots and Idris Elba.

The Days Turn Into Weeks….

Following the events of 28 Days Later we are introduced to Don (Robert Carlyle) and his wife Alice (Catherine McCormack) who are hiding out in a farmhouse with an older couple and a young woman. Just as in the first movie, they are running low on food and supplies, and spend their time fortifying the farmhouse against the infected. suddenly there is pounding on the door and a young boy screams to be let in. They begrudgingly comply but soon realize that he is being chased by a horde of the infected. They soon overrun the farmhouse and Don and Alice get trapped upstairs with the young boy. As they go into another bedroom to escape there is already an infected in the room and has come between Alice and the child on one side and Don just inside the bathroom. Realizing that Alice and the child are doomed, Don self-preservation kicks in he escapes out onto the roof, down onto the ground and makes a run for the boat in the river, leaving Alice to her fate.

28 weeks later, the Rage Virus outbreak has largely ended due to the starvation of the infected. NATO forces, led by the U.S. military, have taken control of London and established a heavily guarded “safe zone” called District One on the Isle of Dogs. Survivors, including Don and Alice’s children Tammy (Imogen Poots) and Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton)who were abroad during the outbreak, are allowed to return and live under military protection. Don manages one of the apartment buildings in the safe zone, but lies to his children about abandoning their mother.

Tammy and Andy sneak out of District One to visit their old family home in hopes of retrieving personal items. There, Andy discovers Alice alive but in a delirious state. Military personnel capture Alice and bring her back to the safe zone where she is quarantined and tested by Medical Officer Scarlet (Rose Byrne). She is found to be an asymptomatic carrier of the Rage Virus, she carries the virus without symptoms but can infect others through her blood or saliva. Don secretly visits Alice, pleading for forgiveness. After a kiss, Don is infected and goes on a brutal rampage, killing Alice and sparking a rapid outbreak within the safe zone.

Scarlet rescues Tammy and Andy, believing the children may hold genetic immunity that could lead to a cure. As the infection spreads, Military Commander Stone (Idris Elba) orders mass executions in a desperate attempt to contain it. Sergeant Doyle(Jeremy Renner) refuses to comply and helps the small group, including Tammy, Andy, Scarlet, and another survivor, Sam, flee. They survive the chaos and firebombing of District One, though Don pursues them relentlessly.

In the dramatic finale, Tammy, Andy, and Scarlet reach Wembley Stadium, where helicopter pilot Flynn reluctantly flies them across the English Channel to France. However, Andy’s status as an asymptomatic carrier means the virus has now spread beyond Britain, a chilling revelation as infected emerge in Paris near the Eiffel Tower.

28 Weeks Later delivers a gripping mix of family drama and relentless horror, painting a bleak picture of survival and human frailty amid the breakdown of society. It was interesting to go back and see Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner, Imogen Poots and Idris Elba 18 years ago. Just out of curiosity I went back and looked at what were their first movies:

Rose Byrne ~ Dallas Doll (1994). This was her 17th movie.
Jeremy Renner ~ National Lampoon’s Senior Trip (1995). This was his 12th movie.
Imogen Poots ~ V For Vendetta ~ (2005). This was her 2nd movie!
Idris Alba ~ Beautiful Mother (1999). This was his 8th Movie.

It is just as terrifying and horrific as the first with a Family’s drama over coping with the outbreak thrown in and it leaves us guessing as to what happens next, 28 years Later. And that’s what we are watching on Netflix tonight. Be back tomorrow with a review of 28 Years Later!

28 Days Later

28 Years Later

Wind River

2017 The Weinstein Company

Rated : R

Length: 1 hr 47min

Crime ~ Drama ~ Mystery ~ Neo-Western ~ Thriller

Directed by: Taylor Sheridan

Starring: Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Gil Birmingham, Jon Bernthal, and Graham Greene.

Nothing Is Harder To Track Than The Truth

Wind River is set in the frozen expanses of Wyoming’s Wind River Indian Reservation, where a local U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tracker named Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) discovers the body of a young Native American woman in the snow. Cory instantly recognizes the girl as his best friend Martin Hanson’s (Gil Birmingham) daughter Natalie (Kelsey Asbille). She had run barefoot in the snow for quite a distance as there is nothing around for miles. The cold air finally froze her lungs and she collapsed where Cory found her. The scene sparks a federal investigation led by Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen), a rookie FBI agent flown in from Las Vegas, who was the closest available agent. Far from her comfort zone being originally from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida she is completely out of her element. Sensing Cory’s familiarity with the case and the terrain, she asks him to help her with her investigation. He agrees and the two start looking for the truth about what happened to Natalie.

Natalie had apparently been raped and they order the medical examiner to order a rape kit for testing. Signs of foul play and trauma quickly turn their attention to the young victim’s relationships. They search out her brother Chip who tells them, after a shootout with a drug addict in the drug filled mobile home, that Natalie had been hanging around a security guard named Matt Rayburn (Jon Bernthal) at a remote oil drilling camp. Outside the mobile home Cory notices a snowmobile trail leading up into the mountain. Cory and Jane head up on a snowmobile to investigate and discover the murdered, mutilated body of Natalie’s boyfriend. Cory and Jane recruit the local Tribe police led by Officer Ben Shoyo (Graham Greene) to accompany them out to the remote oil drilling camp to investigate. And it is there that things take a more sinister turn and we see flashbacks of what happened to Natalie and her boyfriend Matt.

Wind River was written and directed by Taylor Sheridan who also wrote Hell Or High Water and Sicario. All three are excellent movies and three of my favorites. Wind River was inspired by the thousands of stories of American Indian women raped, murdered or missing that he discovered in doing research for the story. Although it isn’t based on one specific story, it is the true story of all the missing women from the reservation. I have seen this movie a number of times and when I saw it was on Netflix last night, I had to watch it again. I love everything about this movie. Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen are fantastic in this as well as Gil Birmingham, Jon Bernthal, and Graham Greene. A couple of stand out scenes for me are outside the mobile home at the remote oil drilling camp where all hell breaks loose, Cory and Pete at the top of the mountain when he tells Pete that he is going to give him the same chances he gave Natalie, and when Cory goes to see Martin at the end and Martin is sitting out back with his “Death Face” on.

You could feel the heartfelt connection these two old friends have for each other, having each other’s backs in life. We all need friends like that. It is an adrenaline filled snowmobile ride chasing down the truth, filled with unexpected dangers and freezing temps, as Cory and Jane search for the truth, battle the elements, bad actors and the general culture of “looking the other way” on the reservation. As I said, I have seen this numerous times and still enjoy watching it. It is one of my favorites……hmmm, maybe I need a top ten favorite movie list. I’ll have to work on that. So, if you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. It is a great movie, you should watch it.