By Steve Crum

A young priest is assigned to a small-town parish to assist a monsignor with a very negative reputation. What follows is a study in deception, cult behavior and eccentricity. Add to that some very dark humor. And override all of that with murder. The result is an involving ride with an internationally known private detective in quest to discover the guilty. 

The heavily layered plot makes for a riveting 144 minutes of Wake Up Dead Man, the third film of the “Knives Out Mystery” series. Once again, Rian Johnson produces, writes and directs. He reestablishes himself as the premiere movie crime-mystery creator of our time…much as his obvious mentor, Agatha Christie, was of her authored books. 

The who-done-it (once again) stars Daniel Craig as master detective Benoit Blanc. He is called to upstate New York to help local police investigate the murder of Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin), the brash and outspoken pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude. Brolin is terrific.

The list of suspects, like any stereotypical murder mystery, varies from the wild to the weird. No surprise that the guilty seems to vary from one to another, and back again—the sign of a good murder mystery. Clues overlap and disappear to the extent that Detective Blanc explodes his frustration: “I cannot solve this case!”

Nonetheless, church parishioners, including assistant priest/former boxer Jud Duplencity (Josh O’Connor), have their individual quirks and possible motives for doing in the domineering Wicks. 

Part of the enjoyment of Wake Up Dead Man are the well known actors who play suspects—referred to as a “flock of wolves.” Consider Glenn Close as the creepily devout church lady Martha Delacroix. Maybe the guilty party is Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner), the alcoholic physician? Perhaps it is Kerry Washington’s Vera Draven. Andrew Scott’s author, Lee Ross, is suspicious. The list goes on. 

It’s also a kick to watch Jeffrey Wright as a bishop; and Thomas Haden Church as groundskeeper and Martha’s lover. 

Then there is Mila Kunis as the business-only local police chief. 

Wake Up Dead Man is an enticing journey through familiar plot structure that will pull the audience into a revealing and satisfying  epilogue. 

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GRADE on an A-F Scale: B+