A Haunting in Venice (2023)

Rating: 8.4

A Haunting in Venice is another winner for Kenneth Branagh’s Hercule Poirot cinematic anthology! From the backdrop of Venice, to the horror elements, to the engaging performances and some of the most interesting cinematography and production design in a studio movie in recent memory, this may be Branagh’s most cinematic Christie adaptation. The horror helps the cinematography, production design and sound work to shine and allows Branagh to dive deeper into Poirot making this the most captivating examination of the character yet. Plus it made for a spine-tingling and suspenseful crime-mystery with a cunning twist on the classic whodunnit — the mystery about the actual mystery itself made this one really fun. It’s an old fashioned haunted house flick AND a great Poirot mystery; I hope Branagh continues making these films for the rest of his career!

*** No full review as I am taking a break... so please enjoy this extended video review***

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Film Info:

Premise: In post-World War II Venice, Poirot, now retired and living in his own exile, reluctantly attends a seance. But when one of the guests is murdered, it is up to the former detective to once again uncover the killer.

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20th Century Studios

Directed by Kenneth Branagh

Screenplay by Michael Green

Based upon the novel “Halloween Party” by Agatha Christie

Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Tina Fey, MIchelle Yeoh, Jamie Dornan, Camille Cotton, Kyle Allen, Jude Hill, Emma Laird, Kelly Reilly, Ali Khan, Riccardo Scamarcio

Runtime: 1hr 43min

Rating: PG

Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller

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IMDb Rating: 6.8/10

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 76%

RT Audience Score: 77%

RT Critic Average: 6.5/10

RT Audience Average: 3.9/5

Metacritic Score: 62

CinemaScore: B

Letterboxd: 3.1/5

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Fun Fact: Jamie Dornan and Jude Hill were previously directed by Sir Kenneth Branagh in Belfast (2021). In that film, Hill's character is seen opening Christmas presents, one of which is a copy of "Hallowe'en Party", which is the original title of this new project.

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Trailer: