Kenneth Branagh’s take on the Agatha Christie tale, “The Halloween Party” is transformed into an extended game of Clue in A Haunting in Venice - taking place inside a haunted estate on Halloween night. 

 

Kenneth Branagh clearly loves portraying the brilliant detective and with every outing, his accent and mannerisms change ever so slightly - a sign he’s all the more comfortable with the role. Each Christie story Branagh has adapted thus far has had an outrageous cast attached and this entry is no different. With actors like Tina Fey (Mean Girls), Jamie Dornan (Belfast), Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once), Kelly Reilly (Yellowstone) among others joining the investigation. The entire cast is incredibly solid and locks in on their specific characters, Tina Fey is the outlier on first viewing, she does become less distracting on additional watches. 

 

A Haunting in Venice takes a shift in genre from the previous two Branagh-helmed features and while it feels at times tacked on for the sake of effect, the pacing has never been better. The horror components of the film is best shown through the immaculate cinematography and production design conveying the creepy nature of this decrepit mansion amongst the canals of Venice. The jumps scares however are less successful, shining a light on the unnecessary nature of them as they continue to occur, on repeated viewing this distaste softens but a final scare within the third act remains without merit. 

 

The mysterious circumstances of the murder mesmerizes, as it unfolds amongst the terror of the night, The solution to the case catching me personally by surprise, yet another reason to rewatch the picture as it all makes rational sense (mostly) with the little details throughout leading to the verdict. While I didn’t fall for these characters as hard as I did in Murder on the Orient Express, Branagh has directed his best film of the trilogy as it is an incredibly satisfying murder mystery with an unconventional twist. For fans of Christie, this is surely not one to let pass by and for fans of Branagh’s take on Hercule Poirot - A Haunting in Venice is a fitting end if it is to be one.