Creepy-funny séance soiree with Hercule Poirot – Twin Cities

Kenneth Branagh didn’t give us much time to miss Hercule Poirot.

“Death on the Nile,” an adaptation of a crime novel by Agatha Christie and the sequel to actor and director Branagh’s 2017 “Murder on the Orient Express,” was released in early 2022.

Now, about a year and a half later, Branagh is back in cinemas as the mustachioed Belgian detective Poirot in The Haunting of Venice. (To be fair to Branagh, Death’s release was delayed more than once due to the pandemic, so in some ways Branagh had more time to miss incarnating the character than he did at first look shines.)

Thankfully, the consistently captivating “Haunting” feels fresh in some ways That wasn’t the case with the nonetheless entertaining “Death”. Thanks to the addition of a spooky atmosphere to the series, which comes from the constant fear that a supernatural presence could be responsible for this series of murders.

“Haunting,” a loose adaptation of Christie’s 1969 novel “Halloween Party” by “Murder” and “Death” author Michael Green, is set in Venice, of course, in 1947 — a decade after the events of the previous film.

Poirot, exhausted from a life of wars and constant criminal investigations, has retired to the Italian city and even hired a bodyguard – retired police officer Vitale Portfoglio (Richard Scamarcio, “John Wick: Chapter 2”). – to keep those who seek his help away from him. (In a very funny moment, Vitale casually knocks an approaching guy off a sidewalk over one of the city’s eponymous canals and into the water, allowing Poriot to calmly continue on his way.)

However, the former detective allows a long-time acquaintance to see him. And it’s no surprise that crime writer Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey), who long ago contributed to her reputation as a detective, needs his help in a case for which there seems to be no plausible explanation.

“You’re not the first person to try to seduce me with an irresistible case,” he says, turning her away.

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But Ariadne persists, saying that she – the smartest person she knows – can’t figure it out, so she’s come to the second smartest.

He, of course, gives in and soon finds himself with Ariadne at a séance in the decaying palazzo of famous opera singer Rowena Drake (Kelly Reilly) on Halloween. Rowena’s beloved daughter Alicia died under mysterious circumstances a year ago, and the large house now appears to be haunted.

Tonight at the Residence, together with Poirot, Ariadne, Rowena and Vitale:

— Maxime Gerard (Kyle Allen, “West Side Story”), a New York chef with whom Alicia had a failed engagement

— Olga Seminoff (Camille Cottin, “Call My Agent”), Rowena’s housekeeper who was close to Alicia

—Dr. Leslie Ferrier (Jamie Dornan of Branagh’s acclaimed “Belfast”), the Drake family doctor who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after serving as a military doctor for England during World War II

— Leopold Ferrier (Jude Hill, also from “Belfast”), Dr. Ferrier’s son, who acts much older than his 10 years

– Joyce Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh), a famous psychic who will preside over the otherworldly ceremony

– and Nicholas (Ali Khan, “6 Underground”) and Desdemona Holland (Emma Laird, “The Crowded Room”), a brother-sister duo who serve as Joyce’s assistants.