A Haunting In Venice

Story: This time, retired Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) finds himself in the midst of a raging murder mystery at a seance and now he must find the killer. It’s based on the 1969 novel ‘Hallowe'en Party’ by Agatha Christie.

Review: From the very first poster of A Haunting in Venice, one cannot help but notice the similarities with its predecessors like Death on the Nile (2022) and Murder on the Orient Express (2017). Director and lead actor Kenneth Branagh follows the same template here as well - the mysteriously dark overtones with death looming large in a period setting. It’s the post World War II Venice, recreated to perfection (by John Paul Kelly) and beautifully captured (by Haris Zambarloukos) to enhance the atmospherics of master storyteller Agatha Christie’s familiar story that has stood the test of time. But unlike the previous two installments that were on a train and a ship respectively, this one is way too stagnant and still. The action (if we can call it that) unfolds in a cursed palazzo that is reeking of death and mystery. A seance goes horribly wrong and soon it becomes a typical whodunit, where the audience is given ample time and confusing clues on who could be the murderer and what could be his/her motive.

While that has its share of fun, the slow pace and the verbose nature of the screenplay, oscillates between fear-inducing jumpscares and yawn-inducing scenes, featuring too much dialogue between the characters. Like most Agatha Christie novels, the answers to all the questions are firmly locked within the confines of the crime scene and it’s all about the big reveal in the end. Throughout the film, what truly engages are the nuances of the characters, the performances and the unmissable trademark of being transported into the visual portrait of Agatha Christie’s dark world.

Kenneth Branagh is at his usual best playing the famed detective, whose self-imposed exile is interrupted by a curious mystery novel writer Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey). Fey immediately lifts up the character with her breezy screen presence, adding some amount of brightness into an otherwise gloomy setup. An array of important characters played by an able cast keeps the boat afloat, as the film concludes with a somewhat underwhelming climax. However, there are a few legit scares and eerie flashbacks. It delivers the goods for the horror fans with some genuinely spooky scenes and a layered backstory that plays out in the haunted corridors of an old Italian mansion.

In conclusion, ‘A Haunting in Venice’ delivers a few moments of chills and thrills, complemented by intriguing characters. However, it falls short of greatness, lacking that extra punch to make it truly exceptional.