A Haunting in Venice

"Death was only the beginning."

2023 1h 44m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 2,978

MysteryThrillerCrime

Synopsis

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Celebrated sleuth Hercule Poirot, now retired and living in self-imposed exile in Venice, reluctantly attends a Halloween séance at a decaying, haunted palazzo. When one of the guests is murdered, the detective is thrust into a sinister world of shadows and secrets.

“Death was only the beginning.”

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Cast

Kenneth Branagh
Hercule Poirot
Kyle Allen
Maxime Gerard
Camille Cottin
Olga Seminoff
Jamie Dornan
Dr Leslie Ferrier
Tina Fey
Ariadne Oliver
Jude Hill
Leopold Ferrier
Ali Khan
Nicholas Holland
Emma Laird
Desdemona Holland

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Kenneth Branagh
Writers: Michael Green
Languages: English, French, Italian, Latin, Spanish
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $60M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 3 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 5 languages: English, French, Italian, Latin, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Kenneth Branagh, shot by Haris Zambarloukos. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Hildur Guðnadóttir. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Lucy Donaldson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Kenneth Branagh directs. Haris Zambarloukos behind the camera. Hildur Guðnadóttir scores. Lucy Donaldson cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English, French, Italian, Latin, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $60M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Released 3 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 5 languages: English, French, Italian, Latin, Spanish.
4International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
5Part of the "Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Kenneth Branagh, shot by Haris Zambarloukos. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Hildur Guðnadóttir. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Lucy Donaldson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Kenneth Branagh and Kyle Allen and Camille Cottin carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Death was only the beginning.".
11IMDB entry: tt22687790 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 21 themes, including "based on novel or book", "venice, italy", "loss of loved one", "detective".

The technical file

Cinematography: Haris Zambarloukos
Original score: Hildur Guðnadóttir
Editing: Lucy Donaldson
Production design: John Paul Kelly
Costume design: Sammy Sheldon
Makeup / hair: Wakana Yoshihara
VFX supervisor: Artemis Oikonomopoulou
Sound: Andy Nelson
Stunt coordinator: Massimiliano Ubaldi
Runtime: 104 min · 1h 44m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $60,000,000
Box office: $121,400,000
Return: 202% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: A Haunting in Venice (2023)

Part of

Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) Collection

A series of films about the adventures of Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, directed and starring Kenneth Branagh.

Also by

Kenneth Branagh

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Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Brent Marchant2023-09-17
★ 3/10
The one thing a good whodunnit should not do is put its audience to sleep. Unfortunately, this latest cinematic adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel fails miserably on this score. Director Kenneth Branagh’s third outing as Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot is a protracted snooze that leaves viewers caring little about the characters and even less about the story in which they’re trapped. When the famed detective (Branagh) – now in retirement in Venice – is called upon by a friend and author of murder mysteries (Tina Fey) to help her verify or discredit the psychic powers of a medium (Michelle Yeoh) at a séance at an allegedly haunted Venetian palazzo, he’s drawn into yet another of his famous investigations. The problem here is that what should be an engaging story is interminably dull, one that, regrettably, prompts frequent checking of one’s watch. Moreover, virtually the entire film is shot with excessively dark camera work (so much for showing off the glories of Venice). And then there are the performances, which feature good turns by Yeoh and Jude Hill but a positively wooden portrayal by Branagh (compared to his previous depictions of the protagonist) and an absolutely dreadful performance by a woefully miscast Fey. To its credit, like its recent predecessors, the production values of this Christie offering are top shelf, but that’s about all this release has going for it, a far cry from the much better overall work found in “Murder on the Orient Express” (2017) and “Death on the Nile” (2023). Indeed, even fans of the famed mystery writer are likely to find “A Haunting in Venice” tiresome and tedious. Pack a lunch for this one.
Manuel São Bento2023-09-18
★ 7/10
FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://www.firstshowing.net/2023/review-kenneth-branaghs-a-haunting-in-venice-is-quite-the-horror-mystery/ "A Haunting in Venice is, by some margin, the best adaptation of the now trilogy featuring Hercule Poirot, correcting many of the mistakes of the past and utilizing Kenneth Branagh's innate talent as both filmmaker and actor to stand out as a darker, more atmospheric film. Exceptional performances, suspenseful sequences with intense build-ups, and a couple of genuinely intriguing mysteries that last until the very end. Some ambiguity surrounding its supernatural themes feels off in such a logic-driven world, just as not all characters deserve the allocated screen time. If this last installment is used as a solid base for new sequels, the saga has everything in its favor to continue…" Rating: B
CinemaSerf2023-09-20
★ 6/10
Unlike his other two Christie adaptations featuring this character, this film does not have a previous, star-studded, version with which to compare. That's a good thing because this is certainly not one of the author's stronger stories. "Poirot" (Sir Kenneth Branagh) has retired to a sort of self-imposed exile in Venice where he sees nobody but the pastry chef. The arrival of fellow writer "Ariadne" (Tina Fey) teases what's left of his little grey cells and takes them to an old palazzo where there is to be a seance to try and ascertain what caused the strange death of the young "Alicia". He quickly discovers that those assembled consist a group of folks who all have baggage - individually, or with others from the party and of course, in the best "Cleudo" style, one of them is duly murdered in a nigh-on impossible fashion. The last ten minutes of this is quite quirky and as usual with this writer we are presented with a fairly left-field solution, but I found the bulk of the remainder of the mystery to be presented in a stylish and classy-looking, but ponderous and lethargic fashion. It's way too wordy and the cast don't really gel together particularly well as the sense of peril really doesn't accumulate very much at all. It's nicely scored and shows off the beauty and the vulnerability of Venice but as a whodunnit, I felt it just lacked a little je ne sais quoi! Sir Kenneth is definitely trying to create a persona for his detective, and I am warming to that slightly (though he's no Peter Ustinov) but I found the writing rather too dry and I didn't really manage to get into this. Maybe one to watch a few times?