Film Preview: A Haunting in Venice (2023)

Film Poster

Page Revisions:

(April 30, 2023) Original
(July 23, 2023) New Trailer (#2) — New Poster (#2)
(September 10, 2023) New Posters (#3-#16)

Release Date:

September 15, 2023

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “In post-World War II Venice, Poirot, now retired and living in his own exile, reluctantly attends a seance. But when one of the guests is murdered, it is up to the former detective to once again uncover the killer.”

Poster Rating: C / C / C+ / B- / D+ (11) / C-

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Review: (#1) Other than the visual being visually disconcerting, there’s nothing of genuine interest in this teaser design. The empty black background is overbearing and the titling is uninspired.

(#2) Getting the major characters together works, the candles are meant to look like they are being held by the actors, but that motif isn’t always successful.

(#3) While this design has some atmosphere, it also feels a bit cheap and tackily put together. (#4) The oblique angle is a nice touch, the colors and lighting blends it in with prior Poirot design efforts and the figures look a bit more fitting to their positions. It still feels a bit weak comparatively. (#5-#15) These character posters are cheap and lacking in any design creativity. They are just darkly lit figures with no excitement or energy. (#16) This IMAX design is empty and bland.

Trailer Rating: C- / C+

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Review: (#1) You could be forgiven if watching this trailer made you think it was a supernatural horror film rather than an Agatha Christie adaptation. What it doesn’t look a bit like is a Christie adaptation. Will this entice Christie fans? No. Will it entice paranormal fans? Perhaps. They will be sorely disappointed, as will Christie fans if they show up since this appears to bear no resemblance to the novel on which it was based, a personal favorite of mine.

(#2) The first trailer could have been a fluke to sell this film as a supernatural horror film, but this second trailer successfully puts any doubts of that aside and that is perhaps the biggest disservice possible to an Agatha Christie adaptation.