A Haunting in Venice
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Writer: Michael Green
Based on: Agatha Christie’s novel Hallowe’en Party
Sequel to: Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile
Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Tina Fey, Kelly Reilly, Riccardo Scamarcio, Jude Hill, Jamie Dornan, Kyle Allen, Camille Cottin, Rowan Robinson, Michelle Yeoh, Emma Laird, Ali Khan
Seen on: 5./6.1.2026

Plot:
Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) has retired and lives in Venice where he studiously avoids the many people asking him to investigate various crimes. But his old friend, author Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey), pressures him into coming to a séance. She is convinced that the medium, Joyce Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh) is the real deal and wants to put her to the Poirot test. And so they find themselves in a supposedly haunted house on Halloween where opera star Rowena Drake (Kelly Reilly) would like to contact her daughter Alicia (Rowan Robinson) who recently died. When a guest ends up dead, Poirot has quite a few things to investigate after all.

The Branagh Poirot adaptations have, so far, been rather middling, I have to admit. But the casts are always so good that he manages to bring me back again and again. At least it meant that my expectations for A Haunting in Venice weren’t overly high – and when you don’t expect to much, the film is entertaining enough.

I remember seeing the trailer at the movies, and that the trailer was surprisingly horror-heavy. I was curious, though doubtful, whether the movie would live up to that but it does not. It is a pretty classic Agatha Christie story, from what I gather (I have neither read much of her work, nor seen more than a few films): a crime, a host of people, a high-society location where nobody can leave, everybody gets interviewed and conclusions are drawn.

Most of the fun in these films, I feel, comes from the characters and the actors relishing their performances. And while I was dazzled by Kelly Reilly’s beauty, as usual, it was Michelle Yeoh above all who really understood the assignment and gives us a beautifully exaggerated performances. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize how small her part actually was – this seemed like a bit of a waste.

Branagh’s Poirot felt a little lackluster, I have to admit. Maybe because he was supposed to be in a funk, but maybe it was really a lack of enthusiasm in the performance. In any case, I expected a little more, especially a little more humor. It’s hard – for me – to enjoy a Poirot who is oh so serious.

Anyway, it was not a bad watch, but with the cast it could have been more than what it ended up being, I thought. Maybe if they had updated the PTSD portrayal a little, or the political implications that are in the subplot of the Hollander subplot. But as is, the film remains toothless and a little dated.

Summarizing: okay to watch, but nothing to write home about.