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I rarely recommend whodunit movies. Every once in a while, one like "Knives Out" impresses me enough to give the genre another try, but then so many turn out to be predictable bores where the culprit practically has "killer" tattooed across the forehead from the moment they step on screen. Still, I'll watch anything with Tina Fey in it, so when "A Haunting in Venice," Kenneth Branagh's third run as Agatha Christie's iconic detective Hercule Poirot, returned to Hulu at the top of the month, it caught my eye.
Its spooky vibes were what sealed the deal, as I'm a huge fan of horror movies. I wasn't disappointed. Branagh and his screenwriter, Michael Green, reimagine the cozy conventions of your typical detective story as a haunted-house thriller with scares that nearly made me jump out of my seat several times. Its central mystery takes a while to really get cooking, but once it does, I was glued to my seat. Branagh and Fey have great chemistry, the rest of the cast is equally stellar, and the Venice setting and creative cinematography are pushed to the fullest to craft an undeniable sense of dread and suspense throughout. It's definitely worth adding to your watchlist this week if you prefer mysteries with a flair for the dramatic and an unsettling atmosphere that keeps you on your toes.
Article continues belowWhat is 'A Haunting in Venice' about?
Rather than your run-of-the-mill mystery, "A Haunting in Venice" leans more supernatural horror that challenges the world's greatest detective to solve a crime that might just might be committed by a ghost. The movie wastes no time establishing the kind of singular individual Poirot is as he enjoys the post-retirement life in Venice, nowadays whipping out his magnifying glass to study his growing garden rather than finding clues.
An old friend, crime novelist Ariadne Oliver (Fey), pulls him back into the fray after she finds a spiritual medium (Michelle Yeoh) whose bag of tricks even she can't figure out. The pair attend a seance in a supposedly haunted orphanage that turns into a lockdown after one murder after another comes to light. Naturally, Poirot is dead-set on finding the culprit, but when he starts hearing voices and seeing strange things in the shadows, he starts suspecting that not even his brilliant mind can be trusted.
A horror-tinged whodunit with plenty of style
Set largely within a sprawling palazzo — realized through a mix of real Venetian sites, soundstages, and visual effects — the film is laced with hints of something sinister and supernatural afoot. Several scenes contain shots that make it feel like the characters are being watched, as if the spirits Poirot refuses to acknowledge are lurking just out of sight. You're never quite sure who you can trust, especially when the others locked in with our fearless detective begin to question his senses.
As the expected twists and grisly murders unfold, "A Haunting in Venice" uses inventive camerawork to make every shot visually intriguing. The opening's breathtaking shots of the Venetian skyline are traded for the cramped close-quarters of the city's canals and the gothic horror halls of the palazzo. I was also impressed by several artfully set-up transitions between scenes. One in particular that really blew me away was when Poirot is questioning a pair of siblings, and artfully pitting them against each other to find out what he wants to know.
Stream 'A Haunting in Venice' on Hulu now
As someone who wasn't a big fan of Branagh's other turns as Poirot in "Death on the Nile" and "Murder on the Orient Express," I didn't expect to enjoy "A Haunting in Venice" as much as I did. It feels like an angstier cousin of "Clue," with twists and turns even I didn't see coming. It's easily the best Agatha Christie adaptation I've seen in years.
If you love the logic of "Knives Out" but crave the unsettling atmosphere of "The Conjuring," this is the whodunnit you've been waiting for. Looking for more movies on Hulu to watch? Check out everything new on Hulu in May for more streaming recommendations.
Watch "A Haunting in Venice" on Hulu now.
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