Of the three newer Hercule Poirot movies, one stands out. When people think of a Poirot movie, they think that a mentally ill detective from Belgium is going to figure out a murder in a very silly way and hey, there will be blood, but there’s not like a huge amount of gore. It’s Hercule Poirot!
This movie is different.
For those who don’t know, Hercule Poirot is an invention by famed English author Agatha Christie and in the recent years three if her stories have been adapted into live-action movies with Kenneth Branagh playing as Poirot. The movies (in release order) have been Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile, and most recently The Haunting of Venice.
The Haunting of Venice is based on Hallowe’en Story, and as both suggest, it’s a spooky Halloween story. And it’s not the scariest movie in the world, but it scared me for a little bit, so it might be a frightening watch for sensitive souls. The movie is punctuated by an all star cast, including some personal favorites such as Michelle Yeoh and Tina Fey as interesting and captivating characters that have their own Halloween tricks up their sleeves.
The story follows a retired Poirot living in Venice as his Agatha Christie self-insert character drags him to a children’s Halloween party in a haunted house. After the party, they are invited to join a seance where one of the many tortured souls in the house is spoken to. After the seance, Poirot finds himself grappling with a vendetta made by abandoned orphan children while his own beliefs say otherwise.
All in all it’s a good movie and might be my favorite of the Poirot movies so far. I suggest you watch it while it’s still in theaters.
Last year I reviewed Lincoln Park’s version of the play Murder on the Orient Express. Read it here: https://thesirenlppacs.com/6075/showcase/murder/
