Movie Review: A Haunting in Venice

 Michael’s Movie Grade: B+

An excellent addition to Kenneth Branagh’s series of Agatha Christy adaptations. 

This third film in this series is in some ways very different from the previous two and in some ways quite the same. Much of the difference comes from the setting and the atmosphere. Rather than the brightly lit and glamourous look of the previous films, this movie takes place in a creepy building that is believed to be haunted. Instead of seeing many exotic locations (as in Death on the Nile (2022)), here we are enclosed in this claustrophobic with no way out. This works very well adding a real feeling of suspense, greater than anything we felt in the previous movies. While this is not a real horror film, there are some surprisingly good scare scenes here. These scenes will seem very tame to big horror fans, but they do their job by putting us on the edge of our seats here. The séance scene itself is simply great creepy filmmaking. It is obvious that Kenneth Branagh is having a wonderful time dipping his toe (though only his toe) into the horror genre. The great filmmaking during these scenes includes not only the visuals but the sound. Part of this film involves Hercule Poirot hearing a child's voice singing. The voice comes softly from behind you in the theater and feels separated from the rest of the soundtrack. This is a wonderful filmmaking technique that makes the atmosphere here all the more effective. Yet none of the scares here are anything that those who prefer a murder mystery to a horror movie can't handle. Speaking of the murder mystery, it is done quite well here often keeping you guessing who done it. It can even make you truly question whether the killer was a person or supernatural. Yet each twist and turn makes perfect sense and it all adds up very well in the end. While I won't give anything away the final twist is simply wonderful. Like the previous two movies, this film is just as much a character study of Hercule Poirot as it is a murder mystery. This is very well done here. The film does a wonderful job of looking into his lack of faith and how this has made him become jaded and cynical to the point, where he could find no joy out of solving mysteries anymore. While nothing too complex, this character study is still very engaging and gives a certain warmth to this darker film. 

This film does have its flaws though. The biggest of which is actually the cinematography. Using all sorts of weird angles this cinematography tries to make you feel uneasy but instead comes off as distracting and sometimes even unintentionally funny. Also with many of the great atmospheric scenes, the standard integration scenes can pale in comparison and even come off as a little dull. 

This is a great Halloween treat for those who prefer an alternative to straight horror fare.