All The Questions I Have About ‘A Haunting In Venice’

Could A Haunting In Venice be the first time I finally solve the mystery before Poirot does and beat Agatha Christie at her own game? Probably not. But that’s not going to stop me from trying and asking a million questions before I even step foot into the cinema to watch the movie.

Where Does A Haunting in Venice Fit In The Agatha Christie Universe?

A Haunting In Venice sees the return of Agatha Christie’s moustached detective, Hercule Poirot (played by Kenneth Branagh). It’s the third film where Branagh plays the famous detective, after Murder on the Orient Express (2017) and Death on the Nile (2022).

Why Move The Story To Venice?

Based on her novel Hallowe’en Party, which is set in England, the film instead moves it to — you guessed it — Venice. The result is that the film really leans into the Gothic surroundings and introduces a spooky, haunted vibe to the classic Poirot whodunnit. Will it trip him up?

Are Ghosts On Brand For Agatha Christie?

Our girl Agatha is an undisputed icon of the mystery genre, complete with the coolest nicknames ever, like the “Duchess of Death”, the “Mistress of Mystery” and, of course, the “Queen of Crime”.

She’s also been called the “doyenne of coziness”, with a lot of her mysteries set in small, intimate settings, and clues that tend to be mundane, everyday objects. Indeed, this mundanity is part of the charm of Agatha Christie mysteries. The killers always had a motive, often money, and their methods weren’t overly complicated or elaborate. And definitely not supernatural.

Which is why A Haunting In Venice has me stumped. Hercule Poirot, master of the everyday mystery, face to face with a creepy ghost? Not sure how he’s planning to logic his way out of this one.

Will There Be A Lot Of Michelle Yeoh?

I’m a simple girl: put the legendary Michelle Yeoh in a movie and I will watch. In A Haunting In Venice, Yeoh plays a medium who appears to talk to a young girl at the heart of the mystery. Poirot is then called in to figure out what happened.

Yeoh will undoubtedly bring some additional depth and intrigue to the original mystery in Hallowe’en Party. So whether you’re a classic Christie fan or new to the Poirot-verse, the film is sure to throw you some curveballs.

Will I Finally Solve This Murder Before The Characters Do?

While Christie did much of her writing in the so-called “Golden Age” of detective fiction, it feels like we’re in a bit of a mini–Golden Age ourselves. We’ve been blessed with some incredible mystery movies in recent years, so I’ve had some decent practice at my own detective skills.

Which is how I know that there’s little chance for me to solve this mystery before it’s revealed on screen, not when I’m competing with the Queen of Crime herself. But I’m more of a “it’s the journey, not the destination” kinda gal. And if Christie knows anything, it’s how to take us on a wild journey full of subtle hints, secret alliances, red herrings, and a classic final reveal to tie it all together.