One of the big changes in the film world has been the apparent disappearance of what is called the “mid-budget drama.” Especially in the 80s and 90s, there were lots of smaller movies made–by the big movie studios, not indie films–in genres like family drama, romantic comedy, and suspense thriller that didn’t cost too much to make and were targeted at adults. 1993 is a great example of a year that had lots of these kinds of movies: Sleepless in Seattle, Philadelphia, In the Line of Fire, Rudy, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, In the Name of the Father, What’s Love Got to Do With It?, Falling Down…okay, you get the point. Heck, even the wildly popular summer release The Fugitive only had a $44 million budget. A combination of increased filmmaking costs, consolidation of venues into large national chains like AMC, shorter theatrical windows, the rise of prestige TV, and, finally, the advent of the streaming revolution all but dried up the supply for these types of movies as studios put all of their resources into big box office draws aimed at the teenage/young adult audience. What thoughtful, less expensive, and adult-driven fare is out there is typically an HBO series, and Apple TV+ movie, or an A24 indie release.

Yet, the occasional mid-budget, studio-backed release for grown-ups makes it out into the multiplexes. One stream of those has been a series of earnest collaborations between 20th Century (formerly Fox) Studios, actor/director Kenneth Branagh, and the works of Agatha Christie. 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express was a surprise hit for star/director and studio, grossing seven times its thrifty $55 million budget. 2022’s follow-up, Death on the Nile, was a victim of COVID-delays and an bloated $90 million dollar budget. The newest in the series, A Haunting in Venice, goes for a less star-filled cast to control cost and make Branagh’s Hercule Poirot the center of the story. The film, which adapts Christie’s “The Hallowe’en Party,” goes for a darker tone with a supernatural angle that’s new to the series. And, at least in my opinion, it’s the best yet in the series–by a lot.

The story picks up in Venice just a few years after World War II. World-famous detective Hercule Poirot (Branagh) has retired from detecting; the drain of constantly being surrounded by death has robbed him of the joy of solving mysteries and of what faith he had. He receives a visit from author (and Christie stand-in) Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey!), who asks him to come to a Halloween night seance–at a house possibly haunted by the souls of orphans who died there, no less–to help her debunk the medium (recent Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh!!). Poirot reluctantly agrees and seemingly reveals the medium as a fraud…maybe. But then the medium winds up dead, and Poirot has a new murder to solve. Is it the mother of the dead girl they were trying to contact? Her ex-fiance? The housekeeper? The medium’s assistance? Could it even be Poirot’s friend Oliver or his personal bodyguard? In keeping with the Christie tradition, it could be any of them. The twist, however, is that it could also be the ghost of the girl herself. Poirot’s a natural skeptic until he starts seeing and hearing things that he cannot explain away. Could he be wrong about the afterlife? The existence of the soul? About God Himself?

A Haunting works differently than Branagh’s other Christie adaptations because of this supernatural angle. First, the possibility that the supernatural exists adds an extra dimension to the mystery storytelling; it’s not just a whodunit, but a who-or-whatdunit. Second, the possibility that the supernatural exists adds an extra dimension to Poirot’s character. In the first two movies, he’s utterly confident and in charge of every moment, with extravagant music and camera work to match. While Branagh still can’t resist a lot of visual flair, his handling of Poirot himself is much more internal, fighting with doubts not only about who the murderer is, but about the possibility of ghosts, which makes him confront his own ghosts as well. This may be one of Branagh’s most reflective performances in years, and it serves to elevate the film and the genre.

Branagh is served by several other fine performances. Fey is a lot of fun in her role, playing Christie…err, Oliver, with a fast-talking 1940’s screwball verve. A nearly-unrecognizable Jamie Dornan (Barb and Starr Go to Vestal Del Mar) does a fine job a doctor who is suffering from PTSD after being part of the forces that liberated Bergen-Belsen. French actress Camille Cottin, who I didn’t know prior to this, is wonderful as the housekeeper who has a lot more faith in the reality of the paranormal than Poirot. And 11-year-old Jude Hill (Belfast) is suitably creepy as the doctor’s son, a boy taking on too much adult responsibility before his time. All in all, the relatively unknown cast is a strong spot.

Branagh also succeeds in setting a creepy mood. While he still inserts lots of shots just because he can (direct overhead shots of gondolas, a weird Go-Pro style sequence in the middle), he generally keeps things efficiently dreary. He’s helped a lot by the dark-yet-clear work by his regular cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos and a wonderfully controlled-yet-still-Gothic score from Oscar-winner Hildur Guðnadóttir (Joker). Story, acting, and tech all comes together to make an effective mystery and ghost story with a little bit of reflection the bigger issues of life and death.

A Haunting in Venice is still a genre film; I’m not proclaiming it the best of the year or anything like that. But what it is–a thoroughly entertaining movie for grown-ups–is refreshing to see in the theater these days. If you don’t need anything more than that, then make sure to see A Haunting in Venice while it’s still in theaters so the studios know that we want more movies like it.

A Haunting in Venice is in theaters.

And if you want the earlier films (affiliate links):

Murder on the Orient Express: 4K disc; Blu-Ray; DVD; Digital Rent or Buy

Death on the Nile: 4K disc; Blu-Ray; DVD; Digital Rent or Buy

(Photo credit: 20th Century Pictures)