One of my favorite movie trends recently has been these adaptions of Agatha Christie novels, specifically the ones focusing on Hercule Poirot. We’re up to 3 now, as A Haunting in Venice released this month. The producer has hinted at future adaptions if Kenneth Branagh (the star and director) wants to continue. After this one, it seems almost certain he will.

Though they’ve already hit on the 2 most well-known Agatha Christie books, there is plenty of material left to choose from. This movie is loosely adapted from her novel Hallowe’en Party, which I also read before watching this movie. Compared to Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, this novel is clearly a step down, and it’s obvious why they chose to make so many changes.

Does the movie version hold itself to the standard of the first two? How different is it from the book? Keep reading to find out!

And check out the rest of my movie reviews here.

Strengths

Atmosphere and Ambiance

The first thing to note about this movie and the two others is they always nail the atmosphere. Whether it’s a train caught in the snow, a cruise on the Nile River, or a haunted house in Venice, the ambiance is always spot-on. In this case, the creators were clearly aiming for something creepy, and they sure accomplished it.

The cinematography in these movies are always great. You get a full sense of the setting, and the setting plays a large part in creating the atmosphere. Shots of Venice at night in a thunderstorm… Close-ups on various cameras… Creative use of camera angles… This film has everything you’d want.

Casting

Another thing about these movies: They always nail the casting. After three films, I can’t think of a single, glaring mistake. Every actor is perfect for their role, even Tina Fey, who I was uncertain about. She’s one of the few characters who actually improves on the book version.

And the characters who aren’t in the book or are majorly changed play their roles well. The plot is very much character-driven, because you spend most of the runtime learning about their backgrounds, potential motives, and everything you’d expect in a mystery movie. This is still a mystery, but that doesn’t mean you won’t have goosebumps.

Various Tones

One thing I wanted from this movie was a mixture of mystery and horror. It’s billed as more of a Halloween-season film than the other two, and it delivered on this promise. But it also had a mixture of humor and emotional drama. Most surprisingly, it pulled off all these tones and managed to keep a good balance through the whole movie!

Ehh….

THe Pacing

I have two complaints about this movie, and I’ll start with the more serious of the two.

First, the pacing is all over the place. They tried some new things (compared to the previous 2 movies) with camera angles and very quick cuts between scenes. I liked this, for the most part, but it felt like the movie was still missing… something. There weren’t any forced action scenes like the first 2, and I appreciated this, and it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it lacks. I think I’ve figured it out, though.

It needed more scares. Especially with the explanation they give at the end, they could’ve amped up the creepiness soooo much. Give me more shots of the ghost, for one. That would’ve gone a long way. And give me extended shots, not just a flash in the mirror. I think that would’ve helped this movie a lot.

The Plot

My second complaint is kind of my own fault. I read the book Hallowe’en Party because I wanted to notice the similarities between it and this movie. And I did! But they bothered me.

Some things, such as the bobbing for apples, were forced into the movie in a strange way. Others, including the character of Joyce Reynolds, worked in the movie, but because I knew them from the book it threw me off. So this is really my own fault, but it did bother me, and it did take away from my overall experience.

Overall: 7.5/10

Overall, I liked this movie! I really did. I feel like it did some things better than the first 2, and I’d love to see 1 more Agatha Christie adaption from this crew. Especially if they’re going to lean into the creepy side of things. Will I get my wish? I don’t know. But I also don’t think this movie is as rewatchable as the first 2, and that hurts the overall score.

As you can tell, I’m all over the place here, but I’m giving it a…

7.5/10

Same score as Death on the Nile, but in a totally different want. More creepy = I liked it more. I think? I’m still not sure.