A Haunting in Venice
Year: 2023
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Kyle Allen, Kenneth Branagh, Camille Cottin, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, Kelly Reilly, Riccardo Scamarcio & Michelle Yeoh
Runtime: 103 mins
BBFC: 12
Published: 25/09/23
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Kyle Allen, Kenneth Branagh, Camille Cottin, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, Kelly Reilly, Riccardo Scamarcio & Michelle Yeoh
Runtime: 103 mins
BBFC: 12
Published: 25/09/23
Kenneth Branagh’s recent Hollywood adaptations of Agatha Christie’s classic Poirot novels have had a bit of a rough time. 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express was competent, but safe rendition of Christie’s most famous novel. 2022’s Death on the Nile was beset by multiple production issues and delays, only to be released in an unstable post-COVID climate and seemingly shuffled out on the down-low by Disney. But crucially both were fun, glitzy, glamorous, and total fluff that was little more than a good excuse to see attractive A-listers wear gorgeous period costumes in exotic locales. Crucially, they knew what they were, and they worked well if you like that kind of thing.
But Branagh’s third Poirot film has taken a bit of an unexpected turn, shifting from glamour to horror. With a marketing campaign that barely featured the moustached detective, A Haunting in Venice seemed to indicate from the trailers that it didn’t really know who it was for. The final product is simply proof of that being the case.
Having retired from detective work, Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) is living a secluded live in Venice. When he reconnects with an old friend, crime author Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey), she convinces him to attend a seance that she hopes he will be unable to debunk and therefore solidify it as the subject of her next novel.
Gathered at the home of Rowena Drake (Kelly Reilly), whose daughter committed suicide a year earlier, famed medium Joyce Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh) claims to have made contact with the spirits that inhabit the building, and it doesn’t take long for those in attendance to start making their own journeys into the afterlife.
The most immediate problem A Haunting in Venice has is that it simply can’t decide who its audience is, as evidenced by the trailer. I first saw the trailer at a screening of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, then next at a screening of Oppenheimer, then again at a screening of Talk to Me. That’s three very different films, for different audience tastes and target demographics. The trailer frames the film as a supernatural horror up until the final few seconds where Poirot makes an appearance.
The reality is that A Haunting in Venice is ultimately a murder mystery first and foremost but uses horror as its framing. The film is packed with eerie music, fake-out jump scares, and so many dutch angles that you’d think cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos didn’t know which part of the camera was the top. But through all of this, it wants to be a fluffy and relatively light-hearted murder mystery. It’s almost totally at odds with itself. Is this a murder mystery for Agatha Christie fans? Or is this a horror film? Because it can’t be both, especially not because the horror feels somewhat held back by the BBFC rating.
I think that A Haunting in Venice would have benefited from going a bit harder on the horror, potentially even bumping the BBFC rating to a 15 in the process, because the subject matter of the film surrounding the supernatural, suicides, and mental illness is hardly family friendly stuff. A lot of the ‘scares’ were loud noises of glass breaking, birds squawking, or character suddenly appearing on screen. There were only two or three genuine ‘scares’ in the film, and they were not only telegraphed so far in advance that you had time to work out exactly what was going to happen, but also they never paid off with a proper scare because these were the few times that weren’t accompanied by a music sting or creepy lighting.
But Branagh’s third Poirot film has taken a bit of an unexpected turn, shifting from glamour to horror. With a marketing campaign that barely featured the moustached detective, A Haunting in Venice seemed to indicate from the trailers that it didn’t really know who it was for. The final product is simply proof of that being the case.
Having retired from detective work, Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) is living a secluded live in Venice. When he reconnects with an old friend, crime author Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey), she convinces him to attend a seance that she hopes he will be unable to debunk and therefore solidify it as the subject of her next novel.
Gathered at the home of Rowena Drake (Kelly Reilly), whose daughter committed suicide a year earlier, famed medium Joyce Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh) claims to have made contact with the spirits that inhabit the building, and it doesn’t take long for those in attendance to start making their own journeys into the afterlife.
The most immediate problem A Haunting in Venice has is that it simply can’t decide who its audience is, as evidenced by the trailer. I first saw the trailer at a screening of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, then next at a screening of Oppenheimer, then again at a screening of Talk to Me. That’s three very different films, for different audience tastes and target demographics. The trailer frames the film as a supernatural horror up until the final few seconds where Poirot makes an appearance.
The reality is that A Haunting in Venice is ultimately a murder mystery first and foremost but uses horror as its framing. The film is packed with eerie music, fake-out jump scares, and so many dutch angles that you’d think cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos didn’t know which part of the camera was the top. But through all of this, it wants to be a fluffy and relatively light-hearted murder mystery. It’s almost totally at odds with itself. Is this a murder mystery for Agatha Christie fans? Or is this a horror film? Because it can’t be both, especially not because the horror feels somewhat held back by the BBFC rating.
I think that A Haunting in Venice would have benefited from going a bit harder on the horror, potentially even bumping the BBFC rating to a 15 in the process, because the subject matter of the film surrounding the supernatural, suicides, and mental illness is hardly family friendly stuff. A lot of the ‘scares’ were loud noises of glass breaking, birds squawking, or character suddenly appearing on screen. There were only two or three genuine ‘scares’ in the film, and they were not only telegraphed so far in advance that you had time to work out exactly what was going to happen, but also they never paid off with a proper scare because these were the few times that weren’t accompanied by a music sting or creepy lighting.
The previous two Poirot films set the expectation of gorgeous exotic locales, and lavish excess. A Haunting in Venice doesn’t do this at all, instead setting almost the entire film in a dilapidated building, the costumes aren’t particularly eye catching, and this sense of wealth just isn’t there. In fact, it feels significantly stripped back, like a TV movie at times, and if it weren’t for the A-list cast I would have questioned where the $60 million budget went.
Contextually this stripped back approach makes sense, given the horror theming, and the post-WWII setting. However, what made Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile stand out were those exact elements. Without that style, that exotic locale, and just that idea of luxury, A Haunting in Venice really struggles to maintain what made these films enjoyable.
It’s the characters that make or break a good murder mystery though. Christie always knew this which is why her stories were so beloved. But yet again, A Haunting in Venice doesn’t deliver here.
In order to make everyone a suspect a large number of the characters share the same backstory (they knew Alicia (Rowan Robinson) and are now mad with grief over her death), and that’s the quickest way to make the characters forgettable and uninteresting.
In fact, the most interesting character of the bunch is actually the first person to die, setting Poirot’s investigation into motion.
The only part of the story I found particularly enjoyable was the ending. A Haunting in Venice delivers on the impressive deductive skills of Poirot. It doesn’t have the same impact as something like Orient Express’ sucker punch of a reveal, but this film I feel did a decent enough job of subverting my expectations enough that I didn’t work it out before it was revealed.
I think there’s good reason why this story had never been adapted before, unlike so many of Christie’s novels. It’ll scratch a murder mystery itch, and it’s nice to see the proceedings given a horror spin, even if it’s not brilliantly executed.
There’s a good film and a good story here, but I feel like it needed a bit more time in the oven to work out the kinks.
As it stands, A Haunting in Venice is a disappointing sequel to films who’s only real merit were their extravagant production designs; take that away and what your left with isn’t of much not.
Contextually this stripped back approach makes sense, given the horror theming, and the post-WWII setting. However, what made Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile stand out were those exact elements. Without that style, that exotic locale, and just that idea of luxury, A Haunting in Venice really struggles to maintain what made these films enjoyable.
It’s the characters that make or break a good murder mystery though. Christie always knew this which is why her stories were so beloved. But yet again, A Haunting in Venice doesn’t deliver here.
In order to make everyone a suspect a large number of the characters share the same backstory (they knew Alicia (Rowan Robinson) and are now mad with grief over her death), and that’s the quickest way to make the characters forgettable and uninteresting.
In fact, the most interesting character of the bunch is actually the first person to die, setting Poirot’s investigation into motion.
The only part of the story I found particularly enjoyable was the ending. A Haunting in Venice delivers on the impressive deductive skills of Poirot. It doesn’t have the same impact as something like Orient Express’ sucker punch of a reveal, but this film I feel did a decent enough job of subverting my expectations enough that I didn’t work it out before it was revealed.
I think there’s good reason why this story had never been adapted before, unlike so many of Christie’s novels. It’ll scratch a murder mystery itch, and it’s nice to see the proceedings given a horror spin, even if it’s not brilliantly executed.
There’s a good film and a good story here, but I feel like it needed a bit more time in the oven to work out the kinks.
As it stands, A Haunting in Venice is a disappointing sequel to films who’s only real merit were their extravagant production designs; take that away and what your left with isn’t of much not.