Defending the Vulgar
A Case for Wake Up Dead Man
I was surprised by the differing opinions on Wake Up Dead Man. Especially from those whom I would call friends, which made me wrestle with my own enjoyment of the film. Yes, some Christians attacked it from various sides for its portrayal of the totalitarian false priest Monsignor Wicks versus the Christlike Father Jud. But others dismissed the film because the cast of characters fell flat for them, too superficial and one-layered, what Dr. Matthew Milliner calls “cheap foils.”
In 1901 the journalist and soon-to-be Catholic convert G.K. Chesterton published his apology for the worthwhileness of cheap kids “novelettes,” as he describes them, in “A Defense of Penny Dreadfuls.” The little adventure stories cost a penny, and they were derided as “ignorant in a literary sense.” Chesterton defends these poorly written entertainment stories for their… wait for it—morality. “They express the sanguine and heroic truisms on which civilization is built,” Chesterton writes, “for it is clear that unless civilization is built on truisms, it is not built at all.” For Chesterton, the fantastical stories about good and evil with their cast of stock characters were necessary moral amusements for the benefit of the populace.
Mystery stories in large part feature a prominent detective with a robust personality surrounded by flat characters who all might be suspected of the crime. Chesterton himself penned a host of these popularly entertaining stories with Father Brown as the detective. When Wake Up Dead Man introduces the divorcee, hack author, disgruntled sister, overly pious church lady, former alcoholic handyman etc, the audience should want nothing more. We’re not reading Jane Austen; we’re watching a mystery story.
If you read a lot of PD James, Agatha Christie, or Dorothy L. Sayers, you can hardly remember one background suspect from the others. What sticks with you is Adam Dalgliesh, Hercule Poirot, or Lord Peter Wimsey. In the fight against evil in the world and solving the mysteries set before them, these detectives are our nonliterary Robin Hoods. They are our heroes, and we love them. We remember not the minor characters but the mystery itself and the delight of solving it.
When you watch Wake Up Dead Man, notice how much influence the popular mystery novels have on this film. The detective Benoit Blanc stumbles upon a book list for the church book club that he describes as “a syllabus of how to commit the perfect crime.” I cannot imagine that anyone in that church read these books, which include Edgar Allan Poe’s The Murders in the Rue Morgue and Sayers’s Whose Body? along with a couple of Christie titles. But each of them plays into the mystery. This film is picking up the mantle from these popular reads and aiming for a similar pleasure.
Unmentioned in this list is a sort-of penny dreadful titled The Mystery of Chimney Rock (1979) by Edward Packer, one of the early “choose your own adventure” tales. These unliterary adventure stories were some of my favorite reads as a kid. Wake Up Dead Man is set in the town of Chimney Rock, an intentional allusion that connects the film to its purpose.
Whether you loved or hated the theology of the film (personally I loved it), let’s not dig at its artistry. Not every song is Bach; not every painting is Rembrandt. I don’t always have Shakespeare on my nightstand (though sometimes I do). Regularly mystery novels satisfy my need for literary cotton candy. For this vulgar pop crowd, as Chesterton sees it, “Their drivelling literature will always be a ‘blood and thunder’ literature, as simple as the thunder of heaven and the blood of men.” Since the vast majority of people choose sweets over hearty entrees, I am gratified films like Wake Up Dead Man exist for our indulgence.
What I’m Reading
In addition to teaching Great Books IV this spring which reads Kierkegaard through Flannery O’Connor, for fun, I’m reading the novel Katabasis about the descent of two Cambridge doctoral students into hell to rescue the soul of their advisor. So much fun so far, and I have Plough to thank for pointing me to it.
If you’re looking for a good 2026 read, I was on the Englewood Review of Books with Nijay Gupta and Dorothy Greco discussing our favorite 2025 books. Gupta recommended the 1 Corinthians commentary that I’m into right now (our Bible study is walking through Paul’s letter weekly). And Greco’s book For the Love of Women actually inspired me to leave an Amazon review, which I never do.
Recent Links
Pssst, Mary did know. During Advent I preached at Waves Church in Malibu about Mary and the coming of Jesus. You can hear the audio recording here.
I spoke on a couple of podcasts about reading as a spiritual practice including The Table and The Alabaster Jar.
Alex Sosler, author of several great books himself, reviews Jeff Crosby’s World of Wonders in Front Porch Republic.
Fox News and other sites have been lamenting my comments about reading among Gen Z students. While I have the privilege of teaching Great Books Pepperdine students which are a head above the crowd when it comes to their desire and determination to read challenging texts, I do fear the swath of high schoolers who are being pushed through high school having never read a book.
Upcoming speaking
To see whether I am speaking in your area, follow my engagements on my website: https://jessicahootenwilson.com/events/
In January, I’m in Seattle at the Bear Creek School—>
May the Lord bless and keep you…
Love love love that movie!
That ending of Wake Up Dead Man, though! The confession! The absolution! So much to think about.
As a MS/HS reading specialist, I would agree with you, so many students don't know how to read sentences. It's a tragic failure of education in the past 25 years. It's worth fighting for, and in the battle, reading aloud is never wasted time. It models exactly what students need.