A Haunting in Venice is the third Hercule Poirot mystery starring Kenneth Branagh as Agatha Christie's brilliant Belgian detective.
Having already cracked Murder on the Orient Express (2017) and Death on the Nile (2022), Poirot will this time use his famous "little grey cells" in Italy.
Billed as "an unsettling supernatural thriller", the makers say the tale is inspired by Christie's novel, "Hallowe’en Party".
Speaking about the movie, star and director Kenneth Branagh says: "This is a fantastic development of the character Hercule Poirot, as well as the Agatha Christie franchise.
"Based on a complex, little-known tale of mystery set at Halloween in a pictorially ravishing city, it is an amazing opportunity for us, as filmmakers, and we are relishing the chance to deliver something truly spine-chilling for our loyal movie audiences."
Christie's great-grandson and A Haunting in Venice's executive producer James Prichard told Total Film he welcomed the move into the paranormal in the new movie. He said: "If we are going to continue to make these films, we can't do the same thing over and over. A departure at this point is possibly risky, but it also has the potential to keep it alive, bring in a different audience, and so do something interesting that will hopefully surprise and delight."
A trailer and a fab poster have now been released for the movie.
In our A Haunting in Venice review, we concluded: "Drawing inspiration from a collection of Christie short stories that touch on the supernatural, The Last Seance, Branagh and Green create nerve-tingling tension from the clash between Poirot’s world of logic and a very different world that may contain ghosts and ghoulish goings on.
"Add director of photography Harris Zambarloukos’s titled camera angles and it’s no wonder we feel eerily off balance. The film’s Venetian backdrop works superbly, too, and is a lot more convincing than Death on the Nile’s fake-looking blue-screen Egypt. Rowena’s palazzo may have been created in a Pinewood studio but, like the film itself, it is effectively creepy and chilling. Woo-woo? Maybe. Whoo-hoo! Definitely."
Here's everything we know about Poitot number 3, A Haunting in Venice…
A Haunting in Venice release date
A Haunting in Venice was released on September 15, 2023, in the US and UK. See our new movies in 2023 guide for more films coming soon.
A Haunting in Venice plot
The plot is inspired by Agatha Christie's 1969 novel, "Hallowe'en Party", which is one of her less well-known works. Having previously adapted classics Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, the makers have opted to bring to screen something much less familiar to audiences. It feels like the makers are comfortable that movie-goers have grown used to Branagh's Poirot and therefore they can twist Christie's work more than before.
Set in Italy after World Two, a largely retired Poirot attends a seance with his friend Ariadne (Tina Fey). Needless to say, Poirot is unimpressed with the seance conductor, Miss Joyce Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh), who he sees as a fraud preying on the vulnerable. But Rowena (Kelly Reilly) believes Reynolds can help connect her to the daughter she's lost.
When one of the guests is murdered, Poirot faces a chilling and terrifying case. It's clear the makers plan on playing up the Halloween theme and the movie is likely to have a scary tone. Plus his legendary mustache is back in full bushy mode!
Cast
Kenneth Branagh returns as Poirot. Joining him among others is Tina Fey, Jude Hill, Kyle Allen, Emma Laird, Michelle Yeoh, Camille Cottin and Jamie Dornan.
Is there a trailer?
Yes and the trailer sets the movie up wonderfully...
