A Haunting in Venice (2023)'s activity

Good, although nothing wow

Cannot fathom the estate of Agatha Christie allowed this abomination of a film to be made. Fans are warned to stay as far away from it as possible.

It is not loosely based on A Halloween Party, it merely uses the same character names and takes place on Halloween. Apart from that it is a travesty that even has Ariadne Oliver (now an American played by Saturday Night Live comedienne Tina Fey - this must surely be the very definition of miscasting) when you consider that the Queen of Crime gave Mrs Oliver "a strong dash of myself".

Apart from that it is all low-budget scriptwriting, with such scintillating dialogue as "The clock struck - and so did you".

I knew from the trailer this was going to be bad, but I watched it anyway.

Don't make my mistake - and don't say I didn't warn you.

Was a pretty decent mystery but nothing mind-blowing. I still think Orient Express was the best of the three Poirot films so far. But even though they're definitely worth the watch, they're not movies that I would watch again (the reveal is really the only thing that makes them worth it).

Sadly the series has completely lost it's steam.

You're not missing out if you miss this.

Everyone but Kenneth Branagh's acting was off. And as the director, I think it's Kenneth Branagh's fault.

A Haunting in Venice (AKA Halloween Party Remix or, How Poirot Got His Groove Back) is a spooky Agatha Christie mystery signed Kenneth Branagh that Agatha fans will probably condemn it for being inspired by the original story, but changing everything about it. Personally, I think that's fair play when dealing with one of the lesser known mysteries. Branagh's Poirot isn't quite as eccentric in this one as he was in the others, currently retired and suffering from PTSD. His old friend - and Agatha Christie stand-in - Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey) means to shake him out of it and invites him to a seance he can debunk. And of course there are murders, both past and present, to solve. It's really played as a spooky ghost story, with strange visions, a decaying house (did the Ushers ever own it?), creepy shots of birds and sinful apples and such, but surely, there's a reasonable explanation for all this. Branagh and Fey are funny together. A lot of the characters are mirrors of Poirot's own aspects since this is really about him suffering from a personal crisis and reconnecting with himself. As usual for this film series, the mechanics of the drawing room reveal are iffy, this time seeming rather abrupt. It's gonna get some slack for literary inaccuracy, but I thought it a fine seasonal entertainment.

Excellent murder mystery with elements I didn't expect in a Poirot's movie. Tension from start to end with multiple scary scenes. Enjoyed all the acting too, specifically mentioning Kenneth Branagh and Tina Fey.