When filmmaker Rian Johnson stepped onto the stage on the third day of TIFF 2025 to present his latest creation within the Knives Out saga, he introduced it with a striking proclamation: “we’re going back to church.” This vivid declaration was not meant to be taken literally, but rather metaphorically — signaling that *Wake Up Dead Man*, the newest case for his ever-enigmatic detective Benoit Blanc, was designed to echo the foundational elements of the classic whodunit. In particular, Johnson gestured toward the moody atmosphere and macabre intensity of gothic literature, with Edgar Allan Poe serving as a spiritual lodestar. Having now experienced the film first-hand, I can attest that he fully delivered on this artistic promise. This entry in the franchise exudes a sense of darkness and spiritual gravity absent in its predecessors, while nevertheless retaining the unmistakable hallmarks of *Knives Out*: elaborate, twist-laden mysteries delivered with wit, irony, and bursts of sharp comedic brilliance. On several occasions I found myself audibly gasping, a reaction shared enthusiastically by the wider audience as unforeseen revelations steadily unraveled. A comprehensive critical appraisal will follow in the coming days, but for now, I share my immediate impressions here.
Beyond Johnson’s highly anticipated premiere, my festival day was packed with an almost dizzying variation of tonal experiences. I encountered a taut and unsettling German drama interrogating the hidden dangers of influencer culture, followed by a Saudi Arabian crime thriller undercut by a disappointing twist, a jet-black comedy highlighting the unnerving chaos of children’s bad behavior, and finally a relentless action spectacle that stood out as the most compelling pure action piece I’ve seen in recent memory. Together, these screenings amounted to a wild oscillation of moods and genres, making the day at TIFF both exhausting and eclectic. Sadly, many of these films have yet to secure wider release dates, but I will continue to provide updates should those circumstances change.
For those who might have missed earlier festival coverage, I have also shared reflections on titles such as *Exit 8* and *No Other Choice*, both of which showcase the incredible breadth of cinematic exploration present at this year’s event.
Turning again to Benoit Blanc’s third cinematic outing: the film represents by far the most shadowed, layered, and narratively complex iteration of his investigations to date. Centered on a sinister murder in a small-scale church community in New York, the narrative places Blanc (Daniel Craig) alongside an earnest young priest, brought to life by Josh O’Connor, and a pragmatic local sheriff, played by Mila Kunis. Together, this unlikely trio attempts to untangle an increasingly intricate web of clues. Blanc himself repeatedly remarks upon the near impossibility of the case, underscoring just how impenetrable the circumstances appear. Yet what might initially seem overwhelming soon transforms into one of the film’s greatest strengths: a swirling cascade of jaw-dropping revelations, one stacked upon the next, until the story crescendos with a finale that is not only narratively satisfying but also emotionally devastating. Despite the heavier thematic weight and an atmosphere permeated with dread, Johnson remains remarkably adept at weaving humor into the fabric of the narrative. Indeed, paradoxically, this may be the funniest *Knives Out* installment so far, even as it is the darkest. Audiences can experience this tonal balancing act firsthand when the film arrives in select theaters on November 26th, before becoming available for streaming on Netflix on December 12th.
Another standout of the festival was an utterly unflinching action thriller featuring Xie Miao and Joe Taslim. Anchored in a battle to take down a child-trafficking syndicate operating beneath the surface of society, the film relentlessly subjects its characters — and its audience — to violent, bone-crushing encounters. Each skirmish is somehow both elegantly choreographed and devastatingly visceral, with combat sequences that bring surprising creativity and playfulness to otherwise brutal confrontations. The sheer inventiveness of the choreography is staggering: bicycles are transformed into deadly weapons, fallen adversaries are stacked into human ladders, and an already claustrophobic hallway battle is elevated further by the sudden introduction of a roaring motorcycle. This dazzling inventiveness culminates in a final set piece involving five fighters, each pursuing their own conflicting objectives, resulting in a scene that is chaotic, exhausting, and utterly hypnotic. At present there is no wider theatrical release announced, but one can only hope that action cinema devotees will eventually have access to this exhilarating work.
Moving in a wholly different thematic direction, one German production explored the claustrophobic consequences of life as the child of influencer parents. The story focuses on Luca, played with visible weariness by Maja Bons, whose every milestone — from private emotional developments to delicate conversations about puberty — has unfolded in front of a microphone or camera, often staged by her fame-obsessed parents. Although her material life appears privileged, she is emotionally starved, both wealthy and achingly alone. When her parents reveal their intention to have another child, seemingly motivated more by content-generation opportunities than by authentic desire, Luca begins to question the life imposed upon her. The early portions of the film effectively evoke suffocation, echoing Luca’s state of mind, though ultimately the narrative drifts without focus and squanders intriguing thematic possibilities. In particular, the subplot involving her artificial-intelligence avatar is left underdeveloped and thus fails to enrich the central drama. Like others mentioned, this film has not yet secured broader distribution.
Then came *Bad Apples*, a jet-black comedy that cleverly examines the moral gray areas of teaching and child-rearing through the experiences of Maria, portrayed by Saoirse Ronan. Maria is a genuinely good-natured schoolteacher, but the presence of one particularly disruptive and unmanageable problem student threatens her well-being and her ability to uplift her class. When this student suddenly disappears — for reasons I will not spoil here — Maria discovers an almost guilty sense of relief. The rest of the class flourishes without the constant disruption, and Maria herself regains a measure of peace and effectiveness as an educator. However, the sudden twist that precipitates these events lingers in unsettling fashion, leaving Maria to grapple with unsettling questions of morality: what does it really mean to “do the right thing” when the line between justice and pragmatism grows blurred? The film evolves into a hilariously chaotic romp, playing with these ethical dilemmas while mining sharp humor from Maria’s desperate attempts to balance conscience with expediency. At present, no formal release date has been announced.
By contrast, the Saudi Arabian entry at the festival began with enormous promise yet faltered when it reached its conclusion. Nawal, embodied by actress Mila Alzahrani, works as a police receptionist but harbors a fascination with true crime stories to the point of obsession. When she is drawn into assisting with the murder case of a young woman, her compulsion deepens, driving her to pursue answers with unauthorized zeal. Complications arise not only from the inherent dangers of crime-solving but also from the cultural and institutional barriers confronting a woman who dares to engage in investigative territory reserved for men. This social and political dimension offered a refreshing new wrinkle to the genre, and the progression of the mystery was compelling for much of the film’s runtime. However, a final twist — which I will not reveal here — undermines the narrative’s credibility, feeling cheap and implausible, and thus diminishes much of the goodwill built by the preceding story. As with the other festival selections, no general release has yet been announced.
TIFF 2025 has already proven to be a festival brimming with diversity and surprises, from gothic mysteries to high-octane action exercises, from social satires to intimate dramas. Rian Johnson’s *Wake Up Dead Man* stands as its darkly glittering centerpiece — a film that respects and reinvents the whodunit tradition while daring to inject both existential gravitas and rich laughter. Even amid lighter comedic detours and adrenaline-fueled battles elsewhere in the program, Johnson’s noir-inspired odyssey demonstrates why his Benoit Blanc mysteries have become essential cinematic events.
Sourse: https://www.theverge.com/movie-reviews/773429/tiff-2025-wake-up-dead-man-bad-apples-review
