Edited Oct. 6

To the uninitiated, “A Haunting in Venice” would appear to be a standalone film, and in many ways, it can be treated as such. However, it is actually the third film within a murder mystery series. Each is based on different cases taken on by detective Hercule Poirot, the main character in many of Agatha Christie’s books that have since been adapted for film.

This famous Agatha Christie character, who was portrayed by Kenneth Branagh, has returned from his appearances in both “Murder on the Orient Express” from 2017 and its sequel from 2022, “Death on the Nile.” Branaugh not only returns to star in his pivotal detective role but also returns to direct the third installment after leading the helm of the previous two entries.

The story takes place on Halloween night in 1947, when author Ariadne Oliver, played by Tina Fey, convinces retired detective Hercule Poirot, played by Branaugh, to come to a Halloween party to investigate a mysterious murder that potentially has a supernatural cause.

“A Haunting in Venice,’” based on Agatha Christie’s novel “Hallowe’en Party,” is a more traditional installment within the murder mystery genre with the added twist of a supernatural entity also being a suspect. Although it is an intriguing spin, as the renowned detective is faced with the unique challenge of not just solving a murder but also validating his own belief that spirits and ghosts do not exist.

This would have made for an intriguing plot if balanced correctly. Unfortunately, the
film struggles to interweave the murder mystery plot with the supernatural plot. They do, of course, coexist, but once the murder mystery is underway, the question of whether a haunting is actually occurring is significantly sidelined to being just an inconvenience until the climax of the film.

Fortunately, although the supernatural spin on the murder mystery genre serves more as a hook than anything else, the murder mystery portion itself still works. Along with Branaugh, I was pleasantly surprised by Jude Hill’s performance as Leopold Ferrier. Although his character falls into a bit of the trope that many child characters do, which is to make them sound smarter than everyone else, it come across as really believable and even, at times, a little creepy, given he is one of the few characters that insists on the supernatural being real.

Along with him, Tina Fey as Ariadne Oliver and Michelle Yeoh as Joyce Reynolds both pull off very well-done yet distinct performances, with both characters having interesting angles on the events that transpire. Unfortunately, a number of the cast were left with very little to do, with almost half of the potential suspects filling space on screen rather than adding anything of particular interest to the story.

Ultimately, “A Haunting in Venice” manages to be a solid murder mystery even though it stumbles a bit with its supernatural spin on things. If you are expecting more of a unique spin on the genre, as seen in films like “Knives Out’”or “See How They Run,’”then this is not the film for you.

However, for those of you who are more inclined towards a more traditional murder mystery, this film is a solid choice. It will be interesting to see if Branaugh’s version of Poirot will make another appearance and, if he does, if a more traditional approach will be taken instead.