A Haunting in Venice [2023] – Kenneth Branagh, Tina Fey, Michelle Yeoh

A Haunting in Venice is a decent Halloween snack whose undemanding mystery gets a lift from nifty visuals and a stellar cast.

Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) is back, and it’s post World War II. This darker and spookier spin on the infamous french detective learns from the failings of the previous two iterations and steps away from the party and glamour into the spooky and scary.

However, as hard as director Branagh tries, the movie doesn’t really achieve the heights of the first installment. It may be the simplest mystery of the Poirot trilogy, but Michelle Yeoh brings the spooky and scary.

My issue? The movie is being sold as a scary movie, but it’s not. A Haunting in Venice is another good puzzle from Branagh, who goes for a slow burner approach that makes for an elegant mystery. The ghosts dissolve but the fun of the sleuthing remains.

Don’t get me wrong. It is well-made and broadly fits the mandate of what it’s supposed to be. It’s just not as much fun as its predecessors.

Should You Watch It?

Branagh makes sure the plot is water-tight, and everything is more grounded this time, but the film is short on any real spooks. Result? A satisfying movie with lots of lost potential for being great.

Where Can I Watch It?

A Haunting in Venice is now playing in theaters.