After the events of Death on the Nile, Hercule Poirot (played by Kenneth Branagh) is now retired and trying to stay as far away from the detective profession as he can. However, the attempt at retirement is quickly turned on its head when someone is murdered during a séance that Hercule was attending.
As is the case with the other adaptations of Agatha Christie murder mysteries, A Haunting in Venice thrives through its character work. Hercule Poirot is such a fascinating character, and it is a joy to follow him though these mysteries. The supporting cast of characters are also quite engaging to watch as well.
Most noteworthy, Michelle Yeoh is great in this movie, especially during the séance scenes! This movie undeniably sets itself apart from the other Agatha Christie adaptations, in that Hercule’s arc is deeply compelling. You watch him go back and forth on his beliefs and come to terms with things that he adamantly pushed back against previously. Hercule finds himself at this séance because he was looking to use his skills to debunk the supernatural aspects of it, and when things start to wander outside of the realm of possibility it is fascinating to watch him recalibrate and proceed with new perspectives.
In addition to the character work, this movie is shot very well. Camera shots, and angles are used to make the house feel more claustrophobic, and alive. Finally, the murder that Hercule finds himself entangled with is quite gripping, and it keeps you guessing alongside our detective.
Getting to some less than great aspects, this movie was marketed as though it is more of a horror movie than anything, and that is not the case. Even the name A Haunting in Venice implies horror or thriller over anything else. The tension in the movie is not bad, but there is barely anything scary here. The movie relies strictly on jump scare tactics that you forget about as soon as they happen. This really leads me to question why they would market the movie the way they did because the movie is clearly a murder mystery over anything else, and they are going to entirely miss their target audience by portraying it to be something that it just isn’t.
I also felt the musical score of the movie wasn’t anything special. I would even go as far as to say that it felt incredibly underwhelming at times and in moments when a stronger score could have elevated the tension, it instead fizzles out and leaves you wanting a bit more.
Despite the movie’s inability to deliver on the horror gimmick the marketing implies, this movie is easily the best of the Agatha Christie adaptations. The whodunnit aspect of the movie is quite enticing and keeps you on the edge of your seat for the entirety of the runtime. I’m going to give A Haunting in Venice a 7/10 and suggest you go out and see it. I don’t know about you all, but I think it would be interesting to one day see Hercule cross paths with Knives Out detective Benoit Blanc!
Image Credit: 20th Century Studios