A Haunting in Venice

If you hit an impasse when deciding which movie to stream with the whole family (tweens on up), look for this playful and transporting Kenneth Branagh film now on Disney+.  It’s set against the shadowed canals and labyrinthine streets of Venice, and the film is more eerie and visually immersive than its predecessors, Death on the Nile and Murder on the Orient Express, with a ghost story weaved in with a murder mystery that kept me guessing until the end.

The story:  A family grappling with the loss of a young daughter faces a presence that refuses to let them escape the clutches of the past. This leads them to host a Halloween party in a haunted palazzo and summons a series of guests, luring Poirot out of retirement.     

The film’s foreboding tone and spectral world, established from the opening shots, feel tangible, as Branagh skillfully weaves the Venetian Gothic architecture and winding waterways into the narrative — accentuating the characters’ sense of entrapment and isolation, especially within the decaying mansion where they have gathered.

The all-star ensemble of actors take turns stealing the spotlight, led by Branagh, who consistently grounds us as the gruff, unflappable detective with a sharp wit, this time dipping his toes into the world beyond. Yeoh is enigmatic as self-proclaimed clairvoyant Joyce, and Fey’s performance as Ariadne brings a luminous presence to the film’s dark ambiance. Fey radiates charm and excitement, effectively standing in as a tribute to the iconic novelist Agatha Christie.

A redolent musical score adds to the moodiness, but occasional sound discrepancies took me out of it; I looked around to see if others noticed, but could not tell.  The discrepancies were most problematic during the film’s jump scares, which lost some of their impact due to the technical distraction. To compound matters, I watched the film in IMAX, where technical issues before the screening further detracted from the overall experience.

My second issue with A Haunting was some of the camera techniques. While the sweeping aerial shots were stunning, some of the more dizzying shots during the dialogue could, at times, overshadow the narrative.

Despite these reservations, A Haunting in Venice balances the fun and the spine-chilling in a dual mystery that weaves in some deeper themes, including the idea of post-war trauma and its connection to Halloween, while raising questions about haunted souls and their presence.

While I had my suspicions about what might have led to the demise of the young girl, I remained uncertain until the film’s third act. Credit is due not only to the writing but also to Agatha Christie’s source material, which contributes to the intrigue of the story.