Review: 'A Haunting in Venice' is a surprisingly scary whodunit being a worthy addition to the Poirot trilogy

A Haunting in Venice

With a third Agatha Christie adaptation of the legendary detective Hercule Poirot, director and actor Kenneth Branagh ventures into a new territory in 'A Haunting in Venice'. With 'Murder on the Orient Express' and 'Death on the Nile', Branagh stayed in a classic whodunit style, but here, things get spookier and weirder. Poirot is now retired and has instructed his bodyguard not to have anyone come near him with a new case until he is attended by Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey), a friend who somehow manages to lure him into visiting a deliciously suspicious occurrence. Of course, Poirot takes it up, but little does he know that he is in for instances he has never encountered before. 

Having had the chance to see the film, here's me telling you the good and not-so-good aspects that might help you decide to watch it or not-

The Scares are Scary

It has been such a dull affair when it comes to quintessential horror films lately where the jump scares don't scare anymore, and the predictability factor takes away the anticipation of a scare as well. But to my pleasant surprise, A Haunting in Venice definitely lives up to the use of the word 'haunting' in its title. Who would have thought that Branagh has the chops to create good sequences of fear! There are several scenes in the film, albeit a few of them also predictable, that manage to instil the moment of fear that is intended. 

You will have your occasional jerks on the seat or looking away moments, and that is a huge feat for a film that is designed in a dark world. Also, a note to all the horror filmmakers out there to learn from Branagh - even though your film is pretty much entirely shot in the dark, staying true to the setting, it doesn't need to have consistently dark lighting or practically invisible frames. Branagh and his cinematographer, Haris Zamabarloukos, make sure that even in this dark and full atmosphere, the lighting and cinematography of every scene are lit (not in the slang way) while not compromising the mood.

Also, one frame of the film has me thinking if Branagh is paying tribute to Wes Anderson because that shot (early in the film) is so Wes Anderson-like.

The Mystery & The Big Reveal

Just like horror, whodunits (recently) have been bleak, foreseeable and at times, just blah! But when you know and read about Poirot, it always keeps you hooked. Branagh, with the earlier two films, managed to have a good marriage between style and substance and even here, the subject matter is a winner. 

Just like you would expect, the build-up to a mysterious death, the apparent involvement of supernatural elements and a gradual journey to the big reveal in the end are all done with finesse, making them effective. Unlike so many murder mysteries, you might not see this one coming, and then there is another mini-reveal after the big reveal, thus having your mind blown further. When a whodunit does justice to its essence, it's a battle half-won already.

The Underwhelming Aspects

As there is a limitation with the setting, atmosphere and even a few characters, A Haunting in Venice has several daunting tasks in hand (see what I did there?), not all of which are fulfilled. The progression after an initial interest gets rather full, and even though the verbose between characters isn't as rapid as some other films have, even then isn't as interesting and engaging. Fey's character of Oliver is a fun addition to the subtle, funny moments (as you would expect by casting Fey), but apart from that, the other actors and their characters don't quite leave an impact with the designed scenes.

It also doesn't help that there is pretty much a tick-mark situation with Poirot steadily ruling out one suspect after another, where by the near-end, it only becomes bleaker and bleaker until the big reveal. Even with a forgiving runtime of less than 100 minutes, the film feels a tad longer, more so because of the middle act and character developments.

The Performances

As mentioned above, Tina Fey is a knockout as Ariadne Oliver, and so is the fantastic cameo from Michelle Yeoh as Joyce Reynolds. Another standout is child actor Jude Hill as the Edgar Allan Poe-reading, too-smart-for-his-age being Leopold. And, of course, Branagh himself as Detective Poirot - he inserts the same amount of sophistication and depth to Poirot as he did earlier, but it is indeed deeper owing to Poirot seeing things he never expected to see.

The Verdict

A Haunting in Venice is another worthy addition to the Agatha Christie Poirot trilogy, and by the looks of the end of this film, it does seem we might get more. Did you really think Poirot had retired? Balderdash! Another fun and this time scary whodunit that is worth your attention enough to have a good time.

Rating - *** (3/5)