A Haunting in Venice
A Haunting in Venice is playing in theaters at the time of writing. Rated PG-13. Common Sense says 13.
STORY: A-
A Haunting in Venice is a fabulous blend of horror and mystery.
Mixing two genres in a single movie doesn’t always work. It does here. Horror and mystery historically mingle well since they share a common goal: to explain the unknown.
What makes the combo so potent here is the way writer Michael Green (adapting Agatha Christie’s novel “Hallowe’en Party” with star/director Kenneth Branagh) refuses to keep them separate. The mystery scenes and moments of horror don’t take turns coming to the screen. They’re continually blended together to create a unique work, similar to the way two colors combine to become a new color.
PEOPLE: B
Kenneth Branagh is delightful yet again as the wily Hercule Poirot.
Before Benoit Blanc hurled his wild theories and sharp accusations at anyone within spitting distance, Agatha Christie gave us Hercule Poirot. The pair are two peas in a pod, right down to the French names.
It’s easy to see why Rian Johnson drew inspiration from Christie's creation. Poirot obsesses over puzzles with a child-like delight. It’s hard to tell what he loves more, solving them or telling everyone how he solved them. Ultimately, it’s his unquenchable drive to solve mysteries that makes him so fascinating.
The rest of the cast is excellent as well, particularly recent Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once) and child actor Jude Hill (Belfast).
FILM NERD STUFF: A-
The camera’s goal is to make us queasy.
This is a movie best watched sitting down. The camera makes us seasick, bobbing up and down from the bow of a gondola. It gives us vertigo, sitting atop sky high Venetian palaces. It swells everything to soaring heights as it points to skies and ceilings from creaking floors.
We rarely feel like we’re on steady ground. Our footing is rarely solid. Mysteries are meant to keep us off balance, and the camera work constantly reinforces that feeling.
THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE (Elective Cass): B+
Allow me to recommend a classic TV show.
The X-Files premiered in the mid 90s and quickly became a Friday night tradition (addiction?) across the country. Each episode followed FBI special agents Mulder (David Duchovony) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) as they investigated the cases no one else wanted to tackle: possible extraterrestrial activities. Mulder is a true believer. Scully plays the classic skeptic.
A Haunting in Venice plays much like an X-Files episode. The difference is that Poirot and Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey) are two Scullys. The joy of The X-Files was the weekly debates between Mulder and Scully. The joy here is watching how far two people who are firmly on the disbeliever side of the spiritual fence will be swayed to the other side.
FINAL COMMENTS:
A Haunting in Venice joins The X-Files in the upper echelon of “Whodunit?”/supernatural mashups. Anyone who enjoys a good mystery (especially Branagh’s first two Christie adaptations) or a good scare will love this film.