On November 30, 2025, Addie Woltil and I sat down in theater 12, ready to watch the recently released film, Eternity (2025), starring Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller, and Callum Turner. As the previews started playing, we both got confused—Eternity was a rom-com, but all the previews were horror and mystery. It all made sense when the cast of Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery appeared on the screen. Addie and I looked at each other, shrugged, and continued watching all the way through. We were intrigued right from the beginning, so intrigued that we collectively decided to reschedule our original movie with only a glance and a shrug.
The premise of the Knives Out franchise centers on Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), the best detective in the business. Viewers follow his character through each complex, intricate, and seemingly impossible murder that he tries to solve.
Wake Up Dead Man begins with Father Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor) punching a deacon in the face and getting sent to a little church in Chimney Rock, New York, as a consequence. It is there that he meets Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin), the head of the church, and all of his main crew, who later all become suspects in Wicks’ murder.
My favorite aspect of the making of Wake Up Dead Man was the unique lighting changes in the church. Two days after Monsignor Wicks’ murder, Father Jud enters the church and falls to his knees in prayer. He’s bathed in sunlight. Rays cascade from all sides of the church and illuminate his face through the stained glass as he admits to the church that although he didn’t kill Wicks, he is happy the old man is dead. But in walks Detective Blanc. The sunlight remains until Blanc speaks his truth that the Catholic church represents a story that is “built upon the empty promise of a child’s fairytale filled with malevolence and misogyny and homophobia.” Blanc feels the need to get past this story and “get to a truth [he] can swallow without choking.”
The best part about this enlightening scene: Jud gives space for Blanc’s beliefs. He doesn’t raise his voice in anger or force Blanc to change his opinions like Wicks would have. Jud says, “You’re being honest, it’s good,” and agrees with Blanc that the church is the epitome of storytelling. Then Jud asks a question that prompts Blanc to reflect, and the sunlight returns, now lighting both individuals in the church: “Do these stories convince us of a lie? Or do they resonate with something deep inside that’s profoundly true that we can’t express in any other way but storytelling?”
The use of sunlight coming and going in the church recurs numerous times. Every time the sun appears or fades, more of the mystery is solved, until, at the end, the sun’s rays brighten Blanc’s face as he has his “Road to Damascus” moment. This alludes to a moment in the Bible where Saul of Tarsus is blinded by a light shown from heaven as he encounters Jesus on the road to Damascus. This biblical story is all about an epiphany, which, in the context of the movie, symbolizes Blanc’s realization when sunlight shines on his face. It’s crucial to pay attention to the lighting the sun gives through the film.
Wake Up Dead Man has come out at a critical time, when news is misconstrued across all media platforms. Religion has become a battleground for politics. This movie shows the other side of religion–specifically catholicism. There’s a version of catholics on the news who fight every belief that differs from theirs; they use their anger to fuel their opinions, but those opinions stem from misinterpreted bible verses. This side is represented by Wicks and Cy Draven (Daryl McCormack). Cy edits pieces of Wick’s homilies together to create a political platform for himself. Cy pushes Wicks about this growing YouTube account, saying, “You’ll be president in a few years,” and “Think of what we could do in Christ’s name!” Wicks grows fond of this fantasy because that is the type of priest and person he is.
But the other side to catholicism, represented by Father Jud, is the opposite. He has a dark past; he didn’t grow up in the church like many catholics, but his character is built around one fundamental goal that carries him throughout the film: how can I serve Christ to benefit others? Father Jud doesn’t force others into the religion; he is open and honest to outsiders and parishioners. He doesn’t look down on Blanc for his honest opinion of the church; he encourages it. Father Jud is the faith that prioritizes love, not anger. Father Jud is the open-to-everyone church I grew up believing in.
Wake Up Dead Man is a mystery full of humor and engaging entertainment. Light-hearted moments with many of the characters open the audience’s hearts and allow them to relate to each character in various ways. Wake Up Dead Man is a must-watch and is one of the best films released in 2025.
