Our editor Stefan Geisler was in Venice to follow the trail of the legendary master detective Hercule Poirot and his latest criminal case “A Haunting in Venice” – eerie characters and a séance included.
One of the most succinct statements of the new Hercule Poirot film “A Haunting in Venice” is that every house in the Italian lagoon city of Venice is cursed – and if it weren’t, at least an ominous ghost would haunt the old buildings. Anyone who has ever experienced the atmosphere of this idiosyncratic city, with its restless waterways and house facades assaulted by the harsh sea air, cannot help but somehow agree with this quote.
Yes, Venice is surrounded by an aura of mystery, of the supernatural. Even the narrow shopping streets are sometimes haunted, as the fantastically crafted Venetian masks stare out of many shop windows, silent and empty-eyed. How fitting, then, that the latest whodunit by the mustachioed detective Hercule Poirot has been relocated from the rural town of Woodleigh Common in England to this mysterious city.
For the theatrical release of Kenneth Branagh’s third Poirot case, “A Haunting In Venice,” based on Agatha Christie’s 60th novel “Hallowe’en Party” (formerly known as “The Snow White Party”), I was invited to Venice by Disney to follow in the footsteps of the famous master detective here. In addition to a special screening, a guided tour of the city and an atmospheric gondola ride, I was also allowed to participate in a staged séance, which was an entertaining treat, especially for a horror fan like me.
enjoy as in Venice?
“A HAUNTING IN VENICE” FINALLY RELIES ON A GREAT BACKDROP
“A Haunting in Venice” lives on its extraordinary setting like no other installment in the whodunit series. The cold and sometimes very artificial green screen look from “Murder on the Orient Express” and “Death on the Nile” is exchanged for a tangible backdrop – and some of it was even shot in Venice itself. For example, in Palazzo Pisani a Santo Stefano, a magnificent palace in Venice, which in the film becomes Poirot’s Venice residence, where he wants to enjoy his quiet retirement.
And the gondola rides through the canals of Venice or the shots of St. Mark’s Square were also shot on location. Surprisingly, the gloomy palazzo of the tragic opera singer Rowena Drake, where most of the film’s action takes place, is a studio building of all things – but blends in wonderfully with the atmospheric, eerily beautiful city setting.
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF HERCULE POIROT
Since the film is so linked to the special atmosphere of the lagoon city, it is only logical to let Venice speak for itself as well. And so I was able to explore the filming locations as part of a scavenger hunt through the city. The search for clues led through narrow alleys and along waterways, which was interrupted again and again by some masked and robed figures, who provided for a few eerily beautiful moments.
Scary Sightseeing through Venice
So the puzzle tour was atmospherically all about the new Poirot adventure, which for the first time can also be located in the horror genre. Of course, no one should expect a real horror shocker here. However, the purposefully used scary moments are effective enough to give the crime thriller a new touch. Through these interpolations, the classic whodunit is loosened up narratively again and again, which pleasantly sets it apart from its predecessors.
By the way: The aforementioned scavenger hunt through the city was won by my group – maybe a real Hercule Poirot was lost on me.
A LIVE SÉANCE – AND ME IN THE MIDDLE OF IT
The evening was capped off by a very special event: a live theater performance of the séance from the movie – and even though I would have loved to participate in a real spiritual session, the performance, which was heavily based on the sequence from “A Haunting In Venice,” was eerie spooky fun – ghost summoning, creepy girls and self-spinning chairs included.
A Staged Séance
It is to be hoped that “A Haunting In Venice” will not have been the last adventure of Kenneth Branagh as Agatha Christie’s neurotic sleuth Hercule Poirot. The series seems to have found itself by now and to understand that the criminal cases do not necessarily live on a huge star cast – even if the latest installment is again excellently cast with Hollywood greats like Tina Fey (“30 Rocks”), Jamie Dornan (“Belfast”) and Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All At Once”) – but that the setting also always contributes a significant charm to the puzzle pleasure.
