The film, adapted from Agatha Christie’s Hallowe’en Party, is set to be released in cinemas on the 15th September.
An official trailer has now been released for Kenneth Branagh’s latest turn as Hercule Poirot – which looks set to be the darkest versions of an Agatha Christie book to date. Baed on on Hallowe’en Party, which was originally published in the 1960’s, the film relocates the action to Venice -which as it stands doesn’t make much sense, given the original location for the story was in England – but of course that is perhaps not considered to be glamorous enough considering the locations of Branagh’s previous films 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express and last year’s Death on the Nile.
A Haunting in Venice is set in eerie, post-World War II Venice on All Hallows’ Eve, A Haunting in Venice is a terrifying mystery featuring the return of the celebrated sleuth, Hercule Poirot. Now retired and living in self-imposed exile in the world’s most glamorous city, Poirot reluctantly attends a 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.
Directed by as well as starring Kenneth Branagh, based on the trailer the film certainly comes across as filled with plenty of mystery and spookiness – with quick snapshots of a variety of jumpy moments that make it feel more like a horror film rather than a simple and straight forward mystery. There is clearly a bleakness to every shot used that conveys an element of uncertainty which will keep audiences on the edge of their seat – but whether this is maintained throughout the film remains to be seen. Again, based on this trailer there is a real sense of melodrama which may or may not work in its favour.
However, it does have to be said that there is a cracking cast in support, which includes Michelle Yeoh, Tina Fey, Kyle Allen, Camille Cottin, Jamie Dornan, Jude Hill, Ali Khan, Emma Laird, Kelly Reilly and Riccardo Scamarcio. It will be interesting to see how the dynamic between them all plays out as the story unfolds.
I do have to say, having not been impressed by Branagh’s previous takes on Poirot stories, I’m definitely more intrigued this time around – perhaps because it is a lesser known story which means he can truly make it his own and thrill a modern day film audience.