This review contains spoilers.

On Dec. 12, 2025, “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” was released on Netflix as the third movie in the “Knives Out” series. The movie instantly hit number one on Netflix’s global charts, with the movie attracting viewers with its captivating storyline and unconventional ending following the previous movies in the series.

The movie opens with Father Jud, played by Josh O’Connor, confessing his mistake of hurting another priest, begging for forgiveness and to be let back into the church. He admits to his former life as a boxer, where he was swamped by the guilt of killing another man in the ring, leading him to change his ways and devote his life to the church. The church responds to this by sending him to Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude, which Jud soon realizes is not like the church he knows at all.

As soon as he arrives in the church, Jud notices the imbalance of power with the only priest, Monsignor Wicks, played by Josh Brolin, who carries all the authority. Apart from Wicks’s sole leadership of the church, however, it’s evident that something else is wrong. The movie is able to portray the clear, unsettling nature of the church through its use of strategic dialogue while still keeping its air of mystery.

Jud soon hears the dark history behind the church from Wicks’s longstanding assistant, Martha, played by Glenn Close. Wicks’s grandfather, who founded the church, collected a large fortune over the course of his life, one that he promised to his daughter Grace as long as she submitted to his orders throughout her life. Despite wanting nothing to do with her father or the church, Grace complied. But after her father’s sudden death, she was rudely awakened by the fact that her father had left her nothing. In a fit of rage, Grace destroyed the church, almost killing Martha, but was taken away, her anger still engraved in the church. This carefully constructed backstory provides viewers with not only mystery and suspense, but also manages to link every little detail from the backstory to the actual story, leaving viewers with all their questions answered.

From then, Monsignor Wicks built up the church into the small but fiery church – this one, however, wasn’t built on love. Jud quickly catches on to Wicks’s strategic use of fear and division to keep his church going: embarrassing newcomers, shaming people out of the church, and uniting the group against a common enemy, all his own scheme to keep his inner circle at the church in constant fear. As Jud continues to catch on to Wicks’s tricks, he decides he needs to end Wicks’s reign of terror over the church. Jud’s slow realization of Wicks’s terror over the church moves the film slowly without any unnecessary advances to the climax. 

Alone in the church during his confession, Jud confronts Wicks, accusing him of poisoning the church and hoping that Wicks will see his concern and work with him to fix it. To his surprise, Wicks strikes him, claiming his authority over the church and creating a barrier between him and his church-goers. This divide stands strong, causing rifts and rumors to spread against Father Jud. The toxic nature of the church and the movie’s ability to portray everyone as evil by showing everyone’s flaws, even the characters who are supposed to be “good,” leaves viewers shifting in their seats as the turning point of the story is clearly at hand.

On Good Friday mass, Wicks gives an unusually erratic mass, shocking even his loyal followers. As he retreats to the side chamber, Jud comes out to continue with the mass, but when everyone hears a loud thud from the chamber, they enter the room to find Wicks collapsed on the floor with a weapon in his back, dead.

Jud immediately becomes the prime suspect, and with detective Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig, being called onto the case of this “perfectly impossible crime,” Jud is dug deeper and deeper into a hole. 

While praying in the church, Jud is seen by Blanc, who quickly notices something else is at work here. Blanc believes Jud is innocent and enlists his help to find who’s really at fault. As the movie continues, Wicks and Jud continue to get closer to finding out the culprit before reaching multiple dead ends, giving Blanc almost no hope for solving this mystery. Everyone’s hidden motives to kill Wicks are quickly shut down as every new clue leads to results that aren’t adding up –but discovering who killed Wicks is the least of their worries.

Everything goes wrong as Wicks’s tomb is broken into and security cameras show Wicks alive and walking into a forest. The church groundskeeper, Samson, spots Wicks and follows him before being killed. With this, Jud is now believed by the police to have committed both crimes. This movie isn’t just portraying a simple by-the-book ending; the twists keep coming, with the viewers more lost than the characters.

As Jud reaches his final straw, he goes to turn himself in but is stopped by Blanc, who reveals the answer to their ultimate question: “Who killed Wicks?” With that, everything is revealed.

Unlike every other Knives Out movie, this movie doesn’t end with the murderer being caught and punished or with the cliche bad guy sent to jail. The movie took a new route, one with no distinct good or bad and right or wrong.“Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” branched out from the earlier films of the series, wrapping up the story in a unique way, leaving the real story of who was in the wrong to be interpreted by the viewers. 

In previous films of the series, the films opt for a more humorous and satirical approach, but contrary to these, Knives Out 3 takes a different approach. The film takes a more dark and reflective approach towards the story, making the mystery feel heavier than just a classic whodunit. The real emotional weight behind the crime pulls viewers in, and the incredibly perplexing but logical storyline keeps them on their toes throughout the movie. The shift shows the true ability of the franchise to go outside the box, not sticking to just one tone, but continuing to evolve while still staying true to its original plot.

The movie’s strongest aspect is the writing with the witty and purposeful dialogue revealing important information while simultaneously maintaining the film’s signature humor. The film has the audience reading in between the lines and calculating each character’s actions and intention. The plot is carefully structured, with twists and turns that depend on the audience’s attentiveness, rather than cheap shock value. The balance of suspense and comedy makes the movie engaging to a wide range of audiences.

Along with the script, the cast brings energy and depth to their characters, ensuring that no suspect is forgettable. Benoit Blanc remains a standout character, using his intelligence to guide the audience through the mystery. 

With its impeccable plot line and ending that keeps you pining for more, Knives Out 3 was able to stay consistent yet unpredictable throughout the movie, making this “perfectly impossible crime,” a perfectly incredible watch.