A Haunting in Venice is a mystery-horror film about retired detective Hercule Poirot, who is drawn into a Halloween séance in post-World War II Venice and ends up investigating a murder at a supposedly haunted palazzo.

What it’s about

Poirot goes to the séance mostly as a skeptic, expecting to expose fraud, but the night turns darker when a guest is killed and the mansion’s secrets start unraveling. The story blends detective work with supernatural atmosphere, so it feels like a classic whodunit with a spooky, gothic edge.

Main setup

  • Setting: Venice, Italy, in 1947, after World War II.
  • Lead character: Hercule Poirot, played by Kenneth Branagh.
  • Inciting event: a séance at a decaying palazzo that may or may not be genuinely haunted.
  • Genre: mystery, thriller, and horror.

In one line

It’s basically Poirot investigating a murder during a haunted-house-style séance in Venice.

TL;DR

A retired Hercule Poirot attends a Halloween séance in Venice, but when someone is murdered, he has to solve a creepy case involving grief, secrets, and possible ghosts.