"Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man" is finally hitting Netflix, but how good is the third outing in this knotty series of whodunits really?
After "Knives Out" and "Glass Onion", the "Knives Out" series whisks us off to a remote American small town in "Wake Up Dead Man", where some of the residents have been sucked into a cult like group with Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin) as its charismatic leader. When he bites off more than he can chew and meets a sticky end, the carefully constructed facade of the community begins to come crashing down - and inevitably, Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) stumbles into a web of deceit, loyalty and power struggles that turns out to be far more complicated than it initially looks...
A satirical romp with a healthy dose of laughs
In typical 'Knives Out' style, Rian Johnson tells the story in a complex, shifting and infuriatingly unreliable narrative that keeps you guessing until the very end. Events get revisited, rewritten, or simply contradicted in a way that makes earlier scenes spin around on their heads. This constantly challenges the viewer: every new piece of information throws a spanner in the works, shifts the blame, or exposes a supposed truth as a cleverly constructed illusion.
The film's thematic focus follows in the footsteps of "Glass Onion," but this time hones in on the kind of power structures you might find at a conservative church, and how easily we can get swept up in a strong leader's ideology. The social commentary is sharp but never gets in the way of the story - instead, it forms the foundation for a crime story that's as clever, intricate and delightfully playful as youd expect from the series.
As it steams on, the film becomes increasingly hard to look away from. The plot twists are carefully timed and some of them are truly laugh-out-loud funny. The film looks great too - the gloomy church and community rooms, lit up by the stained-glass windows, create a creepy atmosphere that's at once solemn, oppressive and a little bit spine-tingling.
The soundtrack adds to that effect: when the music kicks in, it's like the image and sound just come together as one powerful force that draws you right into the world of this small-town cult. bits of choral singing get mixed up with some really tense string playing, creating a soundscape that conveys grandeur, unease and a very subtle undercurrent of menace.
The cast - of course - is a big part of why it all works so well. Daniel Craig and Cailee O'Connor make a fantastic mismatched duo that convince entirely with their timing, their emotional nuance, and a healthy dose of silliness. And the rest of the ensemble - from the fanatical cult members to the hapless police officers - brings a palpable energy to the whole thing and adds depth to a story that could easily have been a mess.