A Haunting in Venice

Having previously adapted Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile,Kenneth Branagh turns to Agatha Christie's lesser-known 1969 novel Hallowe'en Party for his third outing as Hercule Poirot. This time, the extravagantly moustachioed Belgian sleuth is urged to attend a seance by novelist friend Aridane Oliver (Tina Fey), and finds himself with another murder to solve. Transposing the action from the quaint English village of the novel to the more romantic setting of Venice makes this something of a loose adaptation - aside from the Halloween backdrop and the names of a few characters, the plot bears virtually no resemblance to that of the book. Branagh does conjure up a spooky atmosphere that sets this apart from his previous films, and he makes fine use of the moody Venetian locales. However, the mystery itself is rushed and convoluted, rendering this a middling rather than truly timeless Christie adaptation.