A Haunting in Venice is set in eerie, post-World War II Venice on All Hallows’ Eve and is a terrifying mystery featuring the return of the celebrated sleuth, Hercule Poirot. Now retired and living in self-imposed exile in the world’s most glamorous city, Poirot reluctantly attends a séance at a decaying, haunted palazzo. When one of the guests is murdered, the detective is thrust into a sinister world of shadows and secrets.

For in-depth thoughts on A Haunting in Venice, please see my colleague Dom Fisher’s review from its original theatrical release here.

Video Quality

The film debuts on Blu-Ray courtesy of 20th Century Studios with a really strong 1080p presentation in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio that presents the film without issue. While not inherently a bad release, there is some disappointment in the fact that the previous two entries in this series received a 4K UHD Blu-Ray release while this one is left only with a Blu-Ray presentation – especially since this is arguably the best effort to date. Despite this, there is no damage, black crush, or digital noise on display in this transfer, so we will not complain too feverishly.

For a movie centered around Halloween, it is nice to have deep black levels, which this transfer executes favorably. Objects retain their depth and hold up very well in the shadows with crush not becoming an issue. The movie itself has a moody color palette with many scenes bathed in darkness which this transfer handles favorably. There is a notable amount of detail and clarity throughout the entire presentation. The fine detail that is present on faces and within some of the makeup work is quite stunning. Roaming shots throughout the palazzo remain stable and avoid most instances of blurring or banding. This is a robust transfer from 20th Century Studios that secures this new feature a problem-free viewing experience, even if a 4K UHD Blu-Ray would have been preferable.

Audio Quality

A Haunting in Venice comes to Blu-Ray with a grand DTS-HD 7.1 Master Audio track. The movie is surprisingly engaging throughout when it comes to sound with subtle elements standing out. Surround channels get some welcome activity during various scenes where sounds are coming from unknown origins. This is a film that is impressive from a sound design perspective. The directionality of this track is precise with sounds coming from all of the appropriate spots. The low end of the track gets to offer up some excellent texture when necessary. Dialogue and sound effects are appropriately balanced with the tonally appropriate score from Hildur Guðnadóttir where nothing gets lost in the mix. This track is quite robust and will be appreciated by fans who pick up this disc. There are optional English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles provided.

Special Features

Murder, Death, and Haunting: A 26-minute featurette in which the cast and creative team discuss the current run of Agatha Christie adaptations, their approach to handling the faithfulness to the source material, why they wanted to bring this story to the screen, the themes and characters, the direction, and more.

Deleted Scenes: There are 11 unused scenes totaling eight minutes provided here including Poirot going through his morning routine, an extended time at the Halloween party, and more that is decently entertaining.

Final Thoughts

A Haunting in Venice is the strongest Agatha Christie outing to date from Kenneth Branagh, but that unfortunately does not mean it is a top-tier movie in general. There are several characters that get a much richer development than normal for the series, yet you are still left wanting more from the remainder of the ensemble. The creepy setting enhances the film quite a bit and you are allowed some genuine chills in places. The pacing of the film keeps you engaged until the end when it begins to struggle to execute the ending in a thrilling manner. That being said, this is the film from the series we are most likely to throw on again in the future. 20th Century Studios has given this film a Blu-Ray with a strong A/V presentation and a brief selection of special features.

A Haunting in Venice will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD on November 28, 2023. The film is currently available to purchase on Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: 20th Century Studios has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.