‘A Haunting in Venice’ movie review: Slightly spooky and somewhat smart

I do not think it serves any purpose to put down how many ways Kenneth Branagh’s A Haunting in Venice differs from Agatha Christie’s 1969 whodunit, Hallowe’en Party, which it is loosely based on. A Haunting in Venice Director: Kenneth Branagh Starring: Kyle Allen, Kenneth Branagh, Camille Cottin, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, Jude Hill, Ali Khan, Emma Laird, Kelly Reilly, Riccardo Scamarcio, Michelle Yeoh Story line: The famous Belgian detective comes out of retirement to investigate a death at a séance Run time: 103 minutes Kenneth Branagh’s third outing as Hercule Poirot following Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, sees the Belgian sleuth in retirement in post World War II Venice preferring “cake to cases” in the words of his good friend, the mystery novelist Ariadne Oliver. Everyone is a suspect, all of who have something to hide including former policeman and now Poirot’s bodyguard, Vitale Portfoglio and the siblings who dream of going to St Louis, Nicholas and Desdemona. A Haunting in Venice wears its decadent luxuriousness proudly on its sleeve with the warm lamps throwing sinister shadows that contribute to a glowing gloom as Poirot reveals the dark secrets hidden in normal hearts.