The third installment of Rian Johnson‘s Knives Out franchise, “Wake Up Dead Man” has been released on streaming platforms after having a theatrical premiere on Nov. 26. The movie continues to follow reoccurring character Benoit Blanc (played by Daniel Craig) as he attempts to solve an “insolvable” crime. The crime, a murder, follows unexplainable twists that keeps viewers on edge.

Father Jud Duplenticy (played by Josh O’Connor) is a priest who previously was a boxer. After killing a man in the boxing ring, Duplenticy transforms his life thanks to Christ. His story of being a fighter is repeated throughout the plot as he is sent to a rural church after punching another priest. The church, Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude, is led by Monsignor Wicks (played by Josh Brolin). Wicks presents himself in an animated way and is abusing his power as a priest. While watching the scenes of him scamming his regular church cohort of money and leveraging blackmail in their favor, I was heavily reminded of the real world where situations like this happen regardless of religious affiliation.

The character that haunts the narrative is Grace Wicks (played by Annie Hamilton). I found her story to be heartbreakingly realistic. A woman repeatedly referred to as the “Harlot Whore,” because she had a child out of wedlock; she is the father of Wicks and daughter of the church’s first priest, Reverend Prentice Wicks and she, now passed, is shunned by the church. Her ostracization is a truth to the unfair burden women receive to due hypocritical standards as it is later revealed that her son too had an illegitimate son to which is hid the truth of.

As like all Knives Out movies, Wicks is killed in a confusing manor. To which the only person that can solve the crime is Blanc. Initially, the first suspect is Duplenticy as it is known that he and Wicks disagreed over how the church should be ran. However, he is taken alongside Blanc to investigate the possible suspects– the church cohort. The cohort revolves around Simone Vivane (played by Cailee Spaeny), Lee Ross (played by Andrew Scott), Nat Sharp (played by Jeremy Renner), Martha Delacroix (played by Glenn Close) Cy Draven (played by Daryl McCormack) and Vera Draven (played by Kerry Washington). What I enjoy the most about movies from this franchise is the elaborate sequences in which the murder mysteries occurs. In this specific case, Wicks stepped away into a closet at church and was found with a lamp knife in his back despite no one being behind him.

As the investigation goes on, Duplenticy gets caught up in solving the case and forgets his true purpose as a priest. My favorite scene in the film is when he has an hours long phone conversation with Louise (played by Bridget Everett), a women whom he doesn’t know and is only trying to get information from, but asks the father to pray for her as she deals with regret in her relationship with her mother who is currently in hospice. The conversation was not only heartfelt, but it helps bring Duplenticy back to Earth and why he decided to become a priest. I also think Johnson filmed the tonal shift perfectly as the scene shifted from annoyance to genuine concern.

Although I enjoyed every bit of the mystery unraveling, I found some parts hard to believe. In particular, the gem found in Prentice Wicks skeleton still being intact after 50 or more years difficult to understand. It was shiny and pink just like it had been before he swallowed it, so I didn’t think it would remain the same after being digested for so long. Moreover, I found the supporting cast to be weak not in terms of acting but in character. The church cohort had many irrelevant characters, Simone and Lee Ross, that it seemed to me that the story wouldn’t change at all if they were removed. The movie felt less balanced compared to the previous two of the Knives Out franchise, as the supporting characters had less to do.

Whenever Netflix announces that another Knives Out movie will be released I anticipate the release immediately and Wake Up Dead Man lived up to the hype I expected. The plot twists shocked me every time up until the murderer was revealed– Martha. Furthermore, the ending scene where the church is rebuilt with intent for good and to not outcast others was beautifully done. Out of the three movies, I would rank Wake Up Dead Man behind Knives Out and in front of Glass Onion, giving it a 4/5 stars.