Writer-director Rian Johnson (Brick, The Brothers Bloom, Looper, Star Wars: Episode VIII—The Last Jedi) returns with the third installment of his Knives Out franchise about private detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig). This time around, the droll Southern investigator is brought in to solve the murder of Catholic Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin), stabbed in the back in his church, Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude. (144 min.)
WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY
What’s it rated? PG-13
What’s it worth, Anna? Full price
What’s it worth, Glen? Full price
Where’s it showing? Netflix
Glen Score another win for Rian Johnson. All three of his old-fashioned whodunit detective mysteries have been fun, thorny stories perfect for playing armchair detective along with Blanc, a cocksure investigator who believes every case is solvable, even a so-called closed-door murder. In this case, after a fiery sermon, Wicks steps into a vestibule to collect himself before continuing, and while Father Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor) continues the service, there’s a thud and a clang, and when Father Jud goes to check, he finds Wicks stabbed in the back in a closed room with no windows. As fun as the mystery is, the real meat on this bone is the diehard parishioners and their various backstories. Glenn Close is a standout as Martha Delacroix, a longtime church volunteer and stalwart supporter of Wicks and his mysterious and dead father, Rev. Prentice Wicks (James Faulkner), who may have hidden a fortune on the church grounds. Mysteries galore!
Anna These Knives Out films are so easily digestible, effortlessly fun in their play on mystery—it’s like playing a game of Clue … or watching Clue, I guess. Craig’s Blanc has no interest in the church itself, only the murder that happened inside. Father Jud came to Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude due to bad behavior, and try as he might, he can’t seem to make a personal connection with any of the church’s flock. Instead, what he finds is a small group of parishioners whose dogged dedication to Wicks seems cult-like. In fact, when he tries to host a Bible study, which Wicks is not aware of, the congregation cries scandal. However, the parishioners may have more to hide than we first see, and soon the tale becomes much seedier and darker than what’s on the surface. Cue the dead bodies!
Glen Once again, art is imitating life. Wicks uses his parishioners’ weaknesses, fears, and prejudices to draw them to his cult of personality. One of his tricks is to humiliate a newcomer to the congregation through his sermon, resulting in the newcomer storming out, which gives his diehard followers a perverse glee and makes them feel like the “in” crowd against the “other.” Wicks is truly awful—hateful, disingenuous, manipulative. We despise him and the fools who blindly follow him. Of course, all fingers point to Father Jud as the killer, and the story is clever enough to keep us wondering, did he do it? How? The why is obvious—he believes Wicks is destroying his church and leading his followers away from Christ’s teachings. Sound familiar?
Anna All too familiar, unfortunately. One thing I love about the Knives Out films is Johnson’s knack for creating moody sets and scenery—rich in detail and texture. The church and the grounds where the story’s centered are no different. It feels removed from the world. Much like the way Stephen King can create a universe for horror, Johnson seems to be adept at setting the scene of a mystery. It’s a popcorn flick for sure, and a good one. Even with a 144-minute runtime, it slips by with every revealed juicy secret. ∆
Arts Editor Glen Starkey and freelancer Anna Starkey write Split Screen. Comment at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Dec 18-25, 2025.