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[Bonus] Wake Up Dead Man
2 Playsin 13 hours
Brook and Sarah sat down to share their thoughts after watching Wake Up Dead Man, the third movie in the Rian Johnson's Knives Out franchise.
Discussed and mentioned
Wake Up Dead Man (2025 film)
Glass Onion (2022 film)
Knives Out (2019 film)
For more information
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Music: Signs To Nowhere by Shane Ivers – www.silvermansound.com
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Order Life or Delft by Brook and Sarah
For a full episode transcript, visit https://cluedinmystery.com/bonus-wake-up-dead-man/
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Transcript
Introduction and Show Excitement
00:00:12
Speaker
Welcome to a Cluedin Bonus episode. I'm Sarah. And I'm Brooke, and we both love mystery. Brooke. Hi, Sarah. So this is the second time that we've done this kind of watch together process, and I'm so excited about today's show.
00:00:31
Speaker
Me too. So I will share that I was in the movie theater i couple of weeks ago and this film was playing and I for the slightest of moments thought, hmm, maybe I should go and watch this now. And then I thought, no Brooke and I are going to be doing this when it comes out on Netflix. And of course, we're talking about Wake Up Dead Man, the next in the Benoit Blanc Knives Out series.
00:00:58
Speaker
It looks fantastic. I have intentionally, as we did with our last project, tried not to watch any trailers, but um it looks so great. And the comments I've heard already from those that watched it in the theater or, you know, have kind of got a sneak peek have been really strong. So I'm looking forward to it.
00:01:19
Speaker
I too, I've seen one clip, it was a panel show and one of the stars was, um it was, was a guest. And so they showed a clip from the movie and it did look fantastic.
Ryan Johnson Interview and Movie Reflections
00:01:31
Speaker
Yeah, I will say I was on Instagram yesterday and um Ryan Johnson, who's the writer and producer, was being interviewed by Otto Penzler at the Mysterious Bookshop. And I did listen in. And, you know, I just think that Ryan Johnson is such a fantastic voice in this space. Every time I hear him speak, I just love how he's really connected to the...
00:01:56
Speaker
to the world of mystery. And so I know that that's going to be reflected today and we can talk more about ah what he's done with this film after we watch. It's time to pop our popcorn and get comfortable on the couch because we're about to watch Wake Up Dead Man. Okay, Brooke, we're back.
00:02:21
Speaker
We've both watched Wake Up Dead Man. What did you think? I have that little glow that you get when you've just seen a really good movie. And to be honest, I'm not sure that I felt that in a really long time. You know, going to the movies and seeing shows isn't quite the same as it was even just a few years ago. So I remember feeling this way when I would come out of the movie theater where you're like, oh, I loved this part and that part. And like you start trying to like go back and think of the film in your mind. And I haven't felt that way in such a long time, but I'm having it right now. Did you love it as much as I did, Sarah?
00:02:59
Speaker
I enjoyed it, but I don't think that I loved it quite as much as you did. But I'm so glad that you did. Interesting. Yeah, I really did. i'm Okay, so
Movie Differences and Character Dynamics
00:03:11
Speaker
let's get into it. The first thing that really struck me um about this show was that it is such a different concept from Glass Onion, which was the second one, the most recent one. And that's really interesting to me.
00:03:26
Speaker
And I like the idea of this is a series, but yet the settings and the concepts are vastly different. They're very much standalone films. Like there's nothing, you did not need to have watched either of the first two movies to enjoy this one.
00:03:45
Speaker
Exactly. Really the only tie between the three movies is the character of Benoit Blanc. Agreed. And I did feel like there were ah very comedic parts. They're also very like,
00:04:01
Speaker
almost overly dramatic parts. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah, the the comedy was really good. Like, I thought that the character of this, of our main character, Priest, he's ah Father Jed, he would say some really funny things at a good moment to kind of bring some levity. And he was the, um shall we say, Watson of the story that you really...
00:04:29
Speaker
as the audience member, you kind of were going along with him in this story of like his level of confusion and understanding. And so when he would do something funny, I thought that was really relatable.
00:04:39
Speaker
Well, and and that's right, because he he's actually narrating the opening scenes, right? He's in some situation where he's explaining something that has happened. And so, um, uh, we see that at the end, what he's, what he's explaining, but, um,
00:04:56
Speaker
Yeah, he's definitely, I think, that that Watson for the audience. What did you think of the mystery, Brooke?
Critique and Mystery Elements
00:05:04
Speaker
I thought the mystery was very good. It was the final culmination, though, is a little bit lost. Like, i kind of...
00:05:16
Speaker
had forgotten about this storyline that is presented early on because it is a ah long film. That's part of this is it's two and a half hours long. So I like, you know me, I like the whole bookend thing and that it circles back and it, you know, the, the crux of this problem lies in the old story. um But it did, I kind of had to be reminded about where we were going with this.
00:05:43
Speaker
Yeah, i was so I agree. it was long. And I think there were a few bits that could have been trimmed out to make it just a little bit of a shorter movie and maybe keep ah attention a little bit, a little sharper.
00:06:00
Speaker
I think you're right. If I had one criticism, it would be that. Like um we have in the middle of the film where um this is a very typical mystery thing where everyone could be us the prime suspect. And so the movie goes through that. There were also a couple of other red herring um trails that it took us down. And maybe that would have been some of the content that could have been trimmed to keep things a little bit more tighter and suspenseful.
00:06:27
Speaker
So the cast is very strong. There are a lot of very familiar names and faces in this movie. Absolutely. Great cast. Although I will say, again, speaking about Father Judd, this was an actor that I hadn't seen a lot, but I thought he did a fantastic job. I really, i thought he was ah very realistic and I liked him as a character.
00:06:52
Speaker
I agree, Brooke. So I wasn't so familiar with Josh O'Connor, and that's the actor who plays Father Judd. But we also have Josh Brolin, Glenn Close, Thomas Hayden Church, whom I hadn't seen in a very long time, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Mila Kunis, Andrew Scott.
00:07:11
Speaker
All of them are in this film, and they they all do a great job. I agree. And I thought the different characters, um which is something we see in the other Knives Out movies, where you have very clear um personality type, shall we say. And I thought that that was done really well once again.
00:07:30
Speaker
Agreed. I really enjoyed the hearkening back to some of the Golden Age mystery novels that ah that takes place because this is a locked room mystery. And so Benoit Blanc references some really well-known titles, all of which we've discussed on the show, Sarah. Yeah, I thought that was i thought that was pretty good as well. um And you know i I think you were saying at the beginning that I think that's down to Rian Johnson being such a fan of the
00:08:02
Speaker
Absolutely. He is a true fan of the genre. I think that it would be really easy for someone in his position um to kind of jump on the mystery train and, hey, let's make a mystery movie because it's really hot right now. But he's doing it because this is truly the genre that he cares about and wants to um you know continue on. So I think that's a wonderful thing about about this franchise.
Fun Considerations and Format Discussion
00:08:28
Speaker
So one thing that I saw in relation to this movie um and the the franchise in general is someone has suggested that they do a Muppet version with Daniel Craig. And i saw a clip of an interview where he seemed to be quite into the idea of doing either voicing. I'm i'm not sure if he would be better voicing a Muppet version of Benoit Blanc, or if he was the only human character and the rest were Muppets, I think either would be fantastic.
00:09:04
Speaker
I would be on for either of those options. I love the Muppets. And we love it when you can ah extend the mystery genre for a younger audience. So i would be all about that as well. I think that would be so much fun. So Sarah, when we watched um Thursday Murder Club, you and I both said maybe this would be better as a series because just the film didn't quite give us enough time to get into the characters. And now this film was much longer. it was probably an hour longer than that. So I definitely feel like we got an extended story, but do you think given the length of this, it, this could have been broken up and been a little mini series?
00:09:53
Speaker
Well, this is a very good question, Brooke. ah Maybe like, two 90 minute movies or like 90 minute episodes. But I think it actually did work really well just as a standalone story.
00:10:09
Speaker
um And I think what I said when we, after we watched the Thursday murder club was, ah my theory is that if it's adapted from a book, the screen adaptation is better if it's done as a series.
00:10:28
Speaker
ah But if it is a standalone um thriller, for example, or a standalone mystery, I think that's also due to the way that these stories are structured and that the only character that carries from one to the next is the detective. I think it's much easier in that case to do it as a standalone movie.
00:10:50
Speaker
Yeah, I think that that's ah a great point that, um number one, this isn't based off a book. So we don't have all that back matter and kind of expansion on characters. um And also, this is the way the series has gone. So the the the one movie was probably the way to do this particular mystery.
Final Thoughts and Call to Action
00:11:08
Speaker
So a final point, Brooke, and this is a bit of ah a pedantic point, but I do wish that the title had a comma in it. Usually you would have a comma,
00:11:20
Speaker
It would be wake up, comma, dead man. um And i every time I see the the title, i I wish I could put in put in that comma. So i went I assume that it's intentional that it's missing.
00:11:33
Speaker
Yes. Thank you, Grammar Police. These are important things, filmmakers and writers. I think that would make more sense, Sarah.
00:11:47
Speaker
Well, Brooke, this has been so fun to talk about our talk about how much we enjoyed watching Wake Up Dead Man. And i look forward to doing it again with something else in the future.
00:12:00
Speaker
I do too. And we hope that you loved this special bonus episode ah to kind of celebrate the holiday season and watch a mystery movie. But for today, thanks for joining us on Clued in Mystery.
00:12:14
Speaker
I'm Brooke. And I'm Sarah, and we both love mystery. Clued in Mystery is written and produced by Brooke Peterson and Sarah M. Stephen. Music is by Shane Ivers.
00:12:26
Speaker
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00:12:40
Speaker
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