A Haunting in Venice

A Haunting in Venice is very different from Kenneth Branagh's previous Poirot films. The less star-studded cast and smaller budget are not problem, the effort to use enclosed spaces for clever and spectacular camera games is nice, and it manages to be pleasantly creepy. An interesting and pleasant change. If Branagh plays with atmosphere and genre like this in future adaptations, I'll be happy to be there. (09/13/2023)

This time Kenneth Branagh took a lesser-known detective story and went to post-war Venice during Halloween: a promising constellation at first sight. The setting of an old, "cursed" house and the ubiquitous voice of a child "from beyond the grave" added a slight horror touch to the film, helping to build the oppressive, perhaps even paranoid atmosphere of a story full of superstition, ghosts and personal trauma. Still, I had the feeling during the screening that there was something not quite right about the film: whether it was the casting of Tina Fey, the staging of some scenes purely for effect, or the rather hasty revelation of the perpetrator and their subsequent punishment. Given the premise and the reviews, I had overly high expectations for the film, which were not satisfactorily met. I would be lying, however, if I said I didn't have fun in the cinema. Maybe one day I will return to Venice and reconsider my opinion. (09/20/2023)

For me, this was quite a big disappointment. No, I haven’t seen Death on the Nile yet. However, I can compare this film to Murder on the Orient Express, and that one wins by a long shot. The idea of combining a classic detective story with horror elements seemed interesting on paper, but the result felt rather jarring. One wants to enjoy the intricate relationships and the murder investigation, but that’s hard to do when the film tries to scare you (and does so in a rather cheap way, even by horror standards). I also agree with the criticism that setting it in Venice was completely unnecessary. Why choose such a picturesque city when 90% of the plot takes place indoors? I don’t understand...On the other hand, Kenneth Branagh was excellent. I enjoy his eccentric take on Poirot (a similar example would be Craig’s Benoit Blanc from the Knives Out series). It’s extravagant but effective. As for the story with supernatural elements, I expected a more ingenious explanation. For a blockbuster, the ending felt rather lazy and poorly executed. What a shame. I give it a 5.5/10. (09/19/2023)

Kenneth Branagh continues with the same, generic whodunit that is a carbon copy of the previous one. Only instead of the sunny Nile Delta with its often overly digital Pyramids, we have mysterious Venice, specifically a gothic house full of strange sounds and untold secrets. Not a single moment is remarkable, not a single shot or sequence of events unpredictable. At least it is briskly told and with a few wannabe horror moments and a decent production design, and it also has a decent (meaning short) running time. (02/15/2024)

Admittedly made for less money, but by a huge margin the best Poirot by Kenneth Branagh. Intimate, elegant, understated, atmospheric. Where the Orient Express and  the Nile are overwrought and digital of, the beautiful mysterious residence in Venice makes do with playful camera angles, and without any CGI gimmicks. The horror overlay a nice bonus, oddly enough it holds up throughout the film, it wasn't just a trailer attraction. (09/22/2023)