Wake Up Dead Man is the third installment in a series of murder mysteries. Directed by Rian Johnson and starring Josh O’Connor. With an amazing supporting cast of other stars in their own right. Together they draw us into a story centering Josh O’connor’s character, Father Jud, as he begins to meet the members of Josh Brolin’s, Monsignor Wicks, dwindling parish. 

The film takes barely a moment to recognize that this is indeed a story being told in the past tense. With moments of voice-over cutting in just enough for that illusion to hold, and we, as the audience, can enjoy the film. Forgetting that whatever case, Senior Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig, is being called to the parish to solve has already happened. And not to spoil anything, but due to the nature of the films, we know it is likely a murder that has taken place.

Monsignor Wicks, played by Josh Brolin, is as far from a ‘holy man’ as one could get. He is a highly divisive person who preaches about damnation and has a particular leaning toward preaching against ‘whores’ as he often says. 

And because of his extreme tangents to his parish while they are captive in the pews, it is inevitable that the size of his ‘flock’ has diminished. That is why the church has sent Father Jud.

Father Jud was once a boxer, and has to be transferred to a smaller church because he hasn’t quite figured out how to squash that boxing bug. Father Jud continues to think in the boxer’s mindset even after his superiors try to display to him that an open hand is better than a closed fist. But seeing Monsignor Wick’s confession as his ‘first punch,’ it is obvious Father Jud has not let go of that anger and hate.

Hate is the central mechanism used to drive the plot along. Shrouding it behind the obvious reasons like greed and envy. It’s not uncommon for some people to covet what others have or even kill for it. 

Johnson masterfully conducts the camera to keep the shot in constant movement and interactive for the audience’s eye. He enjoys the simple pan and the occasional long shot that slowly pulls in. 

And while it is a murder mystery, the seriousness isn’t overdone. Being highlighted by a choice to be well-lit and accurately color graded. A detail consistent in the Knives Out series I enjoy, that can be purposefully disregarded for other murder mysteries to use shadow to ‘hide’ things.

The performances are spectacular, with Johnson’s input obvious as the actors all share a dryness to their line delivery consistent with real life as we have all experienced. Crazy the things some people say with a straight face, right? Father Jud helps Benoit Blanc gather clues, and the story has a wonderful ‘full-story’ moment when the detective makes Father Jud recite the sequence of events. A great way to end the voice-over.

Ending a voice-over is a moment in films that can sometimes be left out, and then the voice-over comes back much later in the film, almost after we’ve forgotten the narration existed. I find this to be something that takes me out of the film. And though it comes back near the end, Johnson was able to avoid it breaking the continuity.

Father Jud isn’t meant to help Detective Benoit Blanc crack the case, nor does he. In the final moments, Father Jud remembers his true calling. Not to fight sin but to embrace it. “It’s this, not this.” A saying Father Jud’s mentor, Father Langstrom, played by Jeffrey Wright, teaches him earlier in the film when Father Jud makes a boxing reference toward his new parish. Monsignor Wicks is a direct showcase of what this fighting mentality can create when held by someone who should embrace others and not battle them.

It’s this outlook that allows Father Jud to stay focused on what he is meant to do. And gets the most opportune moment to take a murderer’s confession. An opportune moment that would not have existed if not for Father Jud showcasing that he will not damn someone for their mistakes or questionable choices. A fear Monsignor Wicks implanted into the minds of his parish, and a fear Father Jud smashes.

Something that I believe is the most important moment of this film. Father Jud is surrounded by people who are, in title and words only, just like him. And while they could have furthered Father Jud’s descent toward anger, he already assaulted a colleague, Father Jud remembers the true calling of his religion. To embrace and not push away. Something highlighted by Benoit Blanc when he rants about religion to Father Jud.

Wake Up Dead Man is a film that can make you feel like you’ve truly witnessed someone go through a very needed lesson. A lesson that I thought I had learned before watching this film. Although it showed me that no matter how far along my journey. I could always take a step back and remember, “it’s this, not this.”

Have you ever heard that expression floating around the internet? The one that goes, “Would you rather be alone in the woods with a man or a bear?” This film makes the argument for the bear. Directed by Baltasar Kormákur, starring Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton. Set in the vast Australian Outback, the perfect place for a psycho killer to perform a ritual that mirrors The Most Dangerous Game.

Charlize Theron plays Sasha, a woman who could only accurately be described as a careless adrenaline junkie who refuses to listen to the advice of others. The perfect protagonist to push full steam ahead into a precarious situation that could have been avoided with much, much more foresight than could have been possible. But just enough for us as the audience to yell at the screen things like, “maybe just don’t go that way?” and the like.

Taron Egerton himself is not a murderous psychopath. But he does a phenomenal job portraying one. So much so, I don’t think I’ll ever be taking a hike with that man, no matter how charming he may be. His character is named Ben, or at least that is the only name he will give us. And Ben, just like everyone else, has his issues, though they are extreme.

I like that APEX focuses on the hunted, and it just so happens that the person being hunted is well trained to move through the Australian Outback and do her best to evade her pursuer. With scenes that drive the urge to learn how to rappel, so that if I do find myself being hunted, I won’t get shot full of arrows because I don’t know how to rappel down the side of a cliff.

Ben himself is a terrifying individual. I noticed he prefers walking around barefoot, a trait of someone who obviously feels closer to nature than he does to other people. With different gadgets and a base-camp set up, I can only assume Ben is an avid hunter. Sasha isn’t too immediately trusting, but unfortunately, it’s too late. 

As Sasha is running through the jungle, I kept coming back to that same question. “Would you rather be alone in the woods with a man or a bear?” And how many people reacted in such a frantic way. Upset that some people, particularly women, would rather be alone in the woods with a bear than a man. 

And I think it’s because, especially after watching Ben hunt Sasha down, that it’s because the Bear would attack only if it’s hungry or defending its young. But a man, like Ben, isn’t defending any young and isn’t starving. We know that Ben hunts other people simply because he wants to. It’s an idea I myself struggled a long time to wrap my head around.

And the consensus I came to was that some people will do horrific and unspeakable things to other people. For reasons that “normal” folk will likely never understand. Those people are what we call demons, or monsters. It’s where that “uncanny valley” feeling originated, at least I think that’s where it originated. We have been wired not to fear something that looks like us, but to fear ourselves. Because all the bad things done in this world have been done by humans, and you’re one of them.