Time: 103 Minutes
Age Rating: M – Violence & suicide references
Cast:
Kyle Allen as Maxime Gerard
Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot
Camille Cottin as Olga Seminoff
Jamie Dornan as Dr. Leslie Ferrier
Tina Fey as Ariadne Oliver
Jude Hill as Leopold Ferrier
Ali Khan as Nicholas Holland
Emma Laird as Desdemona Holland
Kelly Reilly as Rowena Drake
Riccardo Scamarcio as Vitale Portfoglio
Michelle Yeoh as Joyce Reynolds
Director: Kenneth Branagh

I am aware that not everyone is a fan of the Hercule Poirot movies directed by Kenneth, but I enjoy them. Murder on the Orient Express was pretty fun, and even Death on the Nile had its moments. Branagh’s next movie in this series, A Haunting in Venice, intrigued me for the mere fact that it was a considerably darker and more horror focused mystery. I really liked it, and I consider it to be the best of the trilogy.

This movie has a notable setting shift and brings its central detective to Venice. It has a stark tonal shift compared to the previous movies, with it being less epic and operatic, dialling down the camp, and leaning in with being more gothic. There isn’t a lot of levity and takes things seriously, it’s a sombre movie on the whole. I found the mystery to be pretty good, at the very least it’s the best presented and laid out of the trilogy. It’s not unpredictable exactly but I was intrigued enough to see where it would go.

The cast isn’t as stacked compared to the past couple of movies but they were the best defined characters of the trilogy. There’s a real emotional weight and stakes to them, and they are fleshed out well, helped by the performances of the actors. As usual, Kenneth Branagh is a lot of fun as Hercule Poirot, and he’s also handled very well as a character, especially as he’s questioning his own sanity and belief. The rest of the cast, especially Jamie Dornan and Michelle Yeoh, deliver in their parts. Jude Hill was probably the standout for me.

Kenneth Branagh’s direction adds a lot to the movie. It has a really good gothic horror atmosphere, which is perfect for its haunted house story. Death on the Nile was pretty expansive and relied on a lot of CGI, but A Haunting in Venice is comparatively smaller scale and opts for on set location and closed in spooky interiors. The cinematography is stunning, very well composed and its expertly filmed. There are some creative use of handheld dolly shots, go pro shots, fish eye lens, and plenty of dutch angles. It does go into horror a bit with its darker atmosphere, and even jumpscares. If you aren’t into horror and are worried it might be too much, it won’t be. The horror itself isn’t great, and the jumpscares mostly consist of very easy scares. Still, at least they don’t interrupted the follow and atmosphere. Finally, the score from Hildur Gudnadóttir is creepy and solid.

A Haunting in Venice is by far the best of Kenneth Branagh’s Hercule Poirot movies, a riveting, atmospheric and sombre murder mystery, stylistically directed, and with a great cast. Even if you weren’t such big fans of the first couple of movies, I think this is worth checking out.