obsessed with whatever dynamic this is:
benoit and his pathetic little meow meow who can do no wrong
DANIEL CRAIG as BENOIT BLANC
WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY (2025)
costume design by Jenny Eagan
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With three movies to compare between, I really appreciate how each Knives Out movie explores justice from a different thematic angle, not based on the murder that was committed but based on the cruelty that led to that murder.
In Knives Out, a compassionate, ethical young woman treats everyone around her with generosity, and the people around her repeatedly try to take advantage of her kindness to force her into losing the fortune that was gifted to her by a dear friend. There, justice means that she keeps the fortune and decides that actually, she doesn't have to be kind and giving to people who've proven themselves assholes.
In Glass Onion, a woman loses her sister to a gang of wealthy, successful people who've sacrificed their principles for the sake of ambition and ego. There, justice means that everyone involved will be made notorious: whatever their other accomplishments, they will forever be known for being complicit in the burning of the most famous painting in history.
In Wake Up Dead Man, the church takes advantage of a young girl's loyalty and faith to place her under a lifelong burden and fill her with guilt, shame, and hatred. Justice means helping her understand what was done to her and the women around her, and giving her compassion so she can find peace.
This is cool because it means the movies contradict each other! The compassionate justice of Wake Up Dead Man would be totally misplaced in Knives Out, and so would the toppling-monuments justice of Glass Onion. And because each movie has something different to say, they all stand on their own and feel fresh.
This is also why Benoit Blanc is the uniting figure but never the protagonist of these movies. He's an agent of legal justice in that he's the detective and it's his job to figure out whodunnit, but the protagonist -- Marta, Andi and now Jud -- is always the character who delivers thematic justice.
Truly, truly, TRULY the movies of all time. I don't think I've watched better movies than these
CAILEE SPAENY as SIMONE VIVANE
in WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A Knives Out Mystery (2025) dir. Rian Johnson
my wife just said to me "I know it's hard but you need to stick around because there's a new knives out movie coming and we need to see that bisexual ass man play that gay ass detective"
and she's Right
The masculine gaze is a man saying Daniel Craig has "let himself go" after seeing the new Knives Out film as if I wasn't admiring his Cuban heels and lovely three-piece suits and thinking to myself he looked better than he did in James Bond
one thing that works about the benoit blanc movies as a franchise that has tanked other franchises for me (aside from the stupendous acting, clever screenplays with meaningful commentary, and sheer passion for filmmaking done by people at the top of their game) is that the movies aren't connected at all. yes i want 12 more of them. no there cannot be one single mention of any plot point of any of the other ones in any of them (and thankfully there never will be). there's no fatigue of having to keep up with 20 characters' storylines, or remember anything that has happened previously. it's a blank slate every time. plus! they all admirably possess the same distinct style (thank you, rian johnson!) but at the same time are vastly different between them, in sets, costumes, types of characters, interactions between them, etc. so refreshing
PSA: if you're watching the new Knives Out mystery (Wake Up Dead Man), please be aware that around 1 hr 34 minutes in, there's a series of flashing/strobing lights. the sequence lasts about a minute.
^ comment I got on tiktok bc I posted this same thing there. this is why I'm giving the warning because netflix and the theaters didn't 😔
[ID: comment reading "I have epilepsy went to see it yesterday and covered my eyes too late and had a seizure and all I could think was why are we STILL not putting strobe warnings on movies..." /end ID]
To be specific [spoiler warning for Wake Up Dead Man] there is a scene in the rain, the priest will slip on mud, run into the woods, and a fist will knock him out. Close your eyes immediately when you see the fist. Don't open again until you start hearing conversations.
Sharing for the plot specifics which makes it a bit easier for people who are watching compared to tracking the timings
Tagged “not spoiler” because this betrays nothing about the plot but does give a specific cue for the strobing.
🔪 3 Plot Twists That Slap (and 1 that should be arrested) 🔪
hello and welcome back to me yelling on main about storytelling crimes. today we are talking about plot twists. specifically: the good, the god-tier, and the why-would-you-do-this-i-trusted-you tier.
let’s go.
- ✨ The Twist That Reframes Everything ✨
a.k.a. the “wait. WAIT.” twist.
This is when you drop a twist that doesn’t just add drama - it recontextualizes the entire story. It makes the reader go back and reread earlier scenes like “was this character ALWAYS sketchy or am I just stupid??” It retroactively changes the emotional weight of everything that’s happened. Suddenly that offhanded comment in chapter three hits like a brick. The romance subplot becomes 500% more tragic. The villain’s motive makes SENSE now. Delicious.
✅ Best used when: the breadcrumbs are subtle but real. The twist shouldn’t come out of nowhere - it should feel inevitable in hindsight. Like Sixth Sense, Knives Out, that one betrayal in your favorite anime you still haven’t recovered from.
2.🧨 The Emotional Betrayal
It’s giving: “i would’ve died for you” energy. This is the kind of twist that hurts. You thought they were loyal. You thought they cared. They did care - and still did it anyway. Or they never cared, and now you’re spiraling. This twist slaps because it’s not just about plot, it’s about trust. It stabs the characters AND the reader in the same motion. Bonus points if it’s a slow burn betrayal. Bonus bonus points if the betrayer feels genuinely torn up about it.
✅ Best used when: the reader is emotionally attached. Don’t waste this one on a side character we barely know. Save it for the love interest. The best friend. The mentor figure with dad energy. Make it personal. Make it RUIN lives.
3. 🧊 The “They Were Dead the Whole Time” but Make It Interesting
Listen. This one’s risky. It’s a classic for a reason but also easy to flop. But when done well? Haunting. Creepy. Unhinged in a gorgeous way. It doesn’t have to be death either - maybe the character’s been possessed. Or they’re not real. Or the narrator’s memory is lying. The KEY is to not lean too hard on the shock. Lean on the vibes. Give it eeriness. Make it a slow unraveling. Give us dread. Give us melancholy. Give us psychological decay with a side of unreliable narrator.
✅ Best used when: you’re writing something surreal, gothic, speculative, or emotionally weird. This twist isn’t about plot logic, it’s about atmosphere and emotional rot.
🚨 The Twist That Should Be Arrested: “It Was All a Dream” 🚨
I’m sorry but. no. if I read 80k words of someone’s descent into madness just to find out it was their stress dream and now they’re normal again?? I will throw the entire book into a lake. This twist erases tension instead of escalating it. It invalidates everything the reader emotionally invested in. It’s the narrative equivalent of gaslighting. don’t do it. UNLESS - and this is a big unless - you’re doing it with INTENT. Meta intent. Dream-within-a-dream psychological horror intent. If you’re gonna do it, it better haunt me. It better RUIN me. Otherwise? Into the lake.
okay that’s all. go forth and commit plot crimes responsibly. bonus points if you use all three Good Twists in the same story and then look me in the eye like “oh was that too much?”
it wasn’t.
tag me when you emotionally destroy someone with it.
🕯️ download the pack & write something cursed: