Wake up dead man a knives out mystery: A baffling and seemingly impossible murder shocks a quiet church in rural upstate New York, drawing the attention of the ever-polite, Southern-accented detective Benoit Blanc. Portrayed once again by Daniel Craig, Blanc faces one of his most challenging cases yet—and this time, he can’t solve it alone. His unlikely ally is Father Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor), a former boxer who has recently taken on the role of junior pastor. Ironically, Jud also stands at the center of suspicion, accused of murdering the church’s fiery and authoritarian head priest, Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin).
Wake Up Dead Man, written and directed by Knives Out and Glass Onion creator Rian Johnson, takes the Benoit Blanc series in a bold new direction. Rather than leaning heavily on traditional Agatha Christie-style storytelling, the film explores the tense and deeply personal subject of religion in modern America. Johnson has explained that the project began not with a mystery novel, but with a question: could a classic murder mystery be used to examine faith without becoming preachy or evasive? Drawing from his own upbringing in a deeply Christian environment, Johnson aimed to tackle the topic honestly while still delivering an entertaining whodunnit.
If the film shares DNA with any classic crime novel, Johnson points not to Christie but to John Dickson Carr’s 1935 locked-room masterpiece The Hollow Man (also known as The Three Coffins). Carr’s work, known for its gothic atmosphere and impossible crimes, heavily influenced the film’s tone and structure, and is directly referenced within the story itself.
Now available on Netflix after a short theatrical run, Wake Up Dead Man centers on a meticulously constructed locked-room murder. The crime unfolds after Monsignor Wicks delivers a venomous Good Friday sermon. Moments later, he is found dead in a sealed chamber next to the altar, stabbed in the back. During a critical nine-second gap, Father Jud is the only person unaccounted for, making it appear that he alone could have committed the murder. Although Jud openly despised Wicks’ cruelty and manipulation of the congregation, he insists he is innocent—and Blanc is inclined to trust him.
As the investigation deepens, attention turns to the church’s inner circle. The suspects include Martha Delacroix (Glenn Close), the church’s longtime administrator; Vera Draven (Kerry Washington), Wicks’ frustrated lawyer; Cy Draven (Daryl McCormack), a failed extremist politician with a hidden connection to Wicks; Dr. Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner), a troubled local physician battling alcoholism; Lee Ross (Andrew Scott), a declining sci-fi novelist seeking relevance; Simone Vivane (Cailee Spaeny), a once-brilliant cellist sidelined by illness; and Samson Holt (Thomas Haden Church), the gentle groundskeeper and Martha’s lover.
Though nearly everyone had reason to despise Wicks, Blanc ultimately uncovers that Dr. Nat Sharp carried out the murder. Nat orchestrated an elaborate deception involving stolen devil-head ornaments, a blood squib sewn into Wicks’ vestments, and a tranquilizer slipped into the priest’s hidden flask. By triggering the blood effect remotely, Nat convinced Jud that Wicks was already dead. Later, under the guise of examining the body, Nat switched the props and fatally stabbed Wicks. His downfall came from overlooking the drugged flask, which Jud had unknowingly concealed.
But Nat was not acting alone. As Blanc prepares to close the case, Martha Delacroix steps forward and confesses to masterminding the larger plot. Raised within the church, Martha alone knew the secret left behind by Wicks’ grandfather, Prentice—the location of the priceless Eve’s Apple diamond, hidden inside his own body before burial. Years earlier, Wicks’ mother had died searching for it in desperation.
When Martha learned that Wicks planned to desecrate his grandfather’s remains and exploit the diamond for power alongside Cy—revealed to be Wicks’ illegitimate son—she devised an elaborate scheme. With the help of Nat and Samson, she planned to murder Wicks and stage a miraculous resurrection to restore faith and protect the church.
The plan unraveled when Nat’s greed took over. He killed Samson, stole the diamond, and framed Jud by knocking him unconscious. Realizing Nat had betrayed them, Martha confronted him. In a final confrontation, she outsmarted Nat, causing his death in a vat of acid while staging Wicks’ body to appear as if Nat had been responsible for everything.
After confessing, Martha collapses, revealing she had poisoned herself as well. In her final moments, she seeks forgiveness for her sins, including her failure to help Grace in the past. Jud and Blanc manage to secure the Eve’s Apple diamond, preventing it from falling into Cy’s hands. In the end, Jud conceals it forever within a new crucifix he builds for the church—closing the case and preserving its legacy.