A Haunting in Venice producer teases major change from the book

Agatha Christie’s prolific crime stories aren’t ones to be messed with, though a producer of Kenneth Branagh’s latest Poirot adventure, A Haunting in Venice, suggests some major changes are to be expected.

Based on Christie’s novel Hallowe’en Party, A Haunting in Venice is set to bring one of the crime queen’s lesser-known tales to the screen. Initially not as well received as other Branagh adaptations such as Death on the Nile and Murder on the Orient Express, the choice of Hallowe’en Party for a film comes as somewhat of a surprise.

Starring A-list talent including Michelle Yeoh and Tina Fey, the movie is set to explore a series of murders that take place during a Halloween seance in the Italian city, drawing Hercule Poirot in to investigate further.

While crime fans might not be too familiar with the details of the original story, one producer suggests that significant changes have been made between the novel and the movie.

A Haunting in Venice movie will be different from the book

20th Century Studios

According to executive producer and CEO of the Agatha Christie estate James Pritchard, change is afoot for Poirot this time around.

“There are a significant number of changes to the story,” Pritchard explained during an interview with The Direct. “And yes, one of the clues is in the title.

“With Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, we had done two very, pretty faithful adaptations of two pretty famous, pretty big books. And Michael Green, the writer, and Kenneth Branagh, obviously, the director, and [Hercule Poirot] felt that we should maybe surprise our audience with this and try something a bit different.”

With Death on the Nile and Murder on the Orient Express receiving largely mixed reviews, the shift in mood for A Haunting in Venice is almost to be expected. The latest in Branagh’s Poirot trilogy is more of a nod to the horror genre, moving away from what viewers have experienced before.

“The main difference they were looking for was tonal,” Pritchard explained. “They wanted to play a little bit with the horror genre, and they felt a Hallowe’en Party was a great launchpad into that.

“They wanted to set it in Venice. That was quite an early change that they came up with. There were two potential reasons for that,” he continued. “One of which is, you know, if you’re going to make a Hollywood movie, you want a great backdrop… not many backdrops better than Venice.

“So there was the kind of cinematic elements of it. But there’s also an atmospheric element to Venice. The film plays with the supernatural — has the potential for the supernatural at its heart, and Venice has an air of mystery and air of mystique that plays into it.”

A Haunting In Venice releases in theaters on September 15 – catch up with everything we know about it here. Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile are both currently available to stream on Disney+.

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You can check out our other coverage of the movie below:

• Is there a post-credits scene?
• A Haunting in Venice review: A mystery that does its job
• Ending explained: Who was the murderer?
• A Haunting in Venice cast: All characters & actors
• Is A Haunting in Venice based on an Agatha Christie novel?
• A Haunting in Venice: Cast, plot, book & more
• Will there be A Haunting in Venice 2?