Two Devils, One Diamond, and a Fake Resurrection: Why Wake Up Dead Man Is The Darkest, Most Brilliant Knives Out Mystery Yet

Two Devils, One Diamond, and a Fake Resurrection: Why Wake Up Dead Man Is The Darkest, Most Brilliant Knives Out Mystery Yet

We break down the record-breaking 94% Rotten Tomatoes hit that has everyone talking about Josh O'Connor, religious trauma, and that unforgettable acid-bath finale.

When Rian Johnson first introduced us to Benoit Blanc in 2019, he gave us a donut hole within a donut hole. In 2022’s Glass Onion, he peeled back the layers of a disruptor’s ego. But with Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, which dropped on Netflix this December to immediate viral acclaim, Johnson has done something far more ambitious: he has weaponized faith itself.

If you have been online in the last 48 hours, you have likely seen the discourse exploding. The film has already shattered franchise records, securing a massive 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes higher than both of its predecessors.

But it’s not just the rating that has people talking; it’s the ending. It is messy, tragic, and features a plot twist so convoluted that even Daniel Craig’s Southern sleuth has to pause to let the killer explain it.

Here is the deep dive into the mystery that has redefined the franchise, from the impossible locked-room murder to the hidden diamond that started it all.

The Sacred and the Profane

The brilliance of Wake Up Dead Man lies in its setting. We are far from the cozy Massachusetts mansion of the first film or the sterile tech island of the second. We are in the rusted, freezing heart of upstate New York, at the parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude. The atmosphere is thick with gothic dread leaden skies, frozen ground, and a congregation that seems more like a cult than a community.

At the center of this storm is Monsignor Jefferson Wicks, played with terrifying charisma by Josh Brolin.

Wicks is a firebrand, a man who preaches brimstone and hoards power. When he is found dead in a locked vestry, surrounded by snow with no footprints, it looks like divine intervention. Or, as the local superstitious whispers suggest, the work of a devil.

Enter Benoit Blanc, alongside the film’s true emotional anchor, Father Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor). O’Connor is the breakout star here, playing a former boxer-turned-priest whose quiet faith contrasts sharply with Wicks’ loud zealotry.

Their dynamic grounds the film, giving it a spiritual weight that makes the eventual violence feel even more shocking.

The Impossible Crime Deconstructed

For the first hour, the movie plays like a supernatural thriller. How do you kill a man in a locked room without leaving a trace? The internet’s favorite theory leading up to the release was twins, but Johnson is smarter than that.

The viral twist that has everyone reeling is that the murder wasn't a murder at least, not at first. The film pulls a bait-and-switch that would make Agatha Christie proud. Wicks wasn’t stabbed in that room; he was tranquilized. The blood on his vestments was a remote-controlled squib, a theatrical trick designed to fake his death.

Why? Because this wasn't an assassination plot it was a resurrection plot.

The mastermind behind this madness wasn’t a criminal mastermind, but the church’s most devout follower, Martha Delacroix (Glenn Close).

Close delivers a chilling performance as a woman so consumed by her need for a miracle that she decided to manufacture one. Her plan was biblical in scale: fake Wicks’ death, have him "lie in state" in the tomb, and then have him emerge three days later, "resurrected" for the cameras.

It was a stunt designed to save the dying church and restore faith to the masses.

But as Blanc famously notes, the best-laid plans often involve people, and people are messy.

The Double Cross

The viral Ending Explained threads are currently obsessed with the character of Dr. Nat Sharp Jeremy Renner. If Martha was the architect of the miracle, Nat was the demolition crew.

The complexity of the finale comes from the collision of two different crimes.

Martha wanted a miracle; Nat wanted money. The church held a secret that dated back decades: the Eve's Apple, a diamond worth $80 million, hidden inside the corpse of Wicks’ grandfather within the family crypt.

The resurrection plan required someone to enter the tomb to switch places with the body.

That person was Samson Holt Thomas Haden Church, Martha’s secret lover. The plan was simple: Samson goes in, grabs the diamond, and comes out dressed as the resurrected Wicks.

But greed is a powerful motivator. When Samson emerged from the tomb, effectively pulling off the miracle, he was met not by adoring crowds, but by Nat Sharp. In a twist that turns the film from a mystery into a tragedy, Nat kills Samson to steal the diamond for himself.

This is where the movie earns its darkest entry yet label. We aren't just watching a puzzle being solved; we are watching a tragedy unfold in real-time.

The image of the fake resurrection a miracle curdled into murder is one of the most haunting visuals Johnson has ever directed.

The Acid Bath Finale

If there is one scene that guaranteed this movie’s viral status, it is the confrontation at Nat’s house. This is Breaking Bad meets Clue. Martha, realizing that her lover is dead and her miracle is ruined, goes on a warpath.

The reveal that Martha killed Nat is delivered with a brutality we haven't seen in this series. She doesn't just shoot him; she forces him to drink the very poison he tried to use on her, then dissolves his body in a bathtub of acid.

It is a gruesome, visceral sequence that stands in stark contrast to the polite poisonings of previous films.

When Blanc finally puts the pieces together, he doesn't do it with a triumphant flourish. He does it with sadness. He realizes that Martha, currently dying from the same poison she ingested out of guilt, needs to confess. In a departure from the "I caught you!" trope, Blanc steps back.

He allows the killer to control the narrative one last time, giving Martha the dignity of a final confession to Father Jud.

Why It Resonates

So, why has Wake Up Dead Man struck such a chord? Why is it rating higher than the original Knives Out?

It’s because the film respects the audience’s intelligence while engaging their emotions. The mystery is incredibly complex involving timed squibs, chemical dissolutions, and historical diamonds but the motive is deeply human. It asks hard questions: How far would you go to save your community? Is a fake miracle better than no miracle at all?

The character of Father Jud offers a modern look at faith that feels authentic, not preachy. His survival, and his refusal to be broken by the corruption around him, offers a glimmer of hope in a bleak story.

Furthermore, the cast is electric. Andrew Scott’s faded writer, Kerry Washington’s ambitious lawyer, and Cailee Spaeny’s cellist all bring specific, lived-in energies that make the world feel expansive. But it is the central trio of Craig, O’Connor, and Close who elevate the material to award winning territory.

The Verdict

Wake Up Dead Man proves that the Knives Out franchise is not running out of steam; it is just getting started. By moving away from the rich family squabbling dynamic and into a darker, more thematic territory, Rian Johnson has future proofed the series.

The film is a masterclass in misdirection. It lures you in with the promise of a spooky, supernatural mystery, only to reveal a story about the very human horrors of greed and desperation.

It is a puzzle box wrapped in a tragedy, delivered with the kind of style that only Johnson can muster.

As the credits roll and the snow continues to fall on Chimney Rock, you are left with a feeling that is rare in modern blockbusters: complete satisfaction. The dead man may not have woken up, but the franchise is more alive than ever.