Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh leads the star-studded cast in the new trailer for Kenneth Branagh's "A Haunting in Venice."
The murder mystery, which opens on September 15, is based on Agatha Christie's 1969 novel "Hallowe'en Party." The film also stars Tina Fey, Jude Hill, Kelly Reilly and Jamie Dornan, with Branagh reprising his role as Hercule Poirot from "Death on the Nile" and "Murder on the Orient Express."
"It's a supernatural world where normal rules don't apply," Branagh told Variety. "Murders and ghosts are irresistible to a man with that mustache and that nose to sniff out other culprits."
Set in a post-World War II Venice on All Hallows' Eve, the film follows another mystery featuring the celebrated detective Poirot as he reluctantly attends a séance in a haunted palace. After one of the guests is murdered, the former detective must once again find out who did it.
Despite the supernatural aspect, Branagh said that Poirot's loss of faith is at the center of the film. “He has to face the ghosts of him through a story that makes him try to understand if there is something on the other side,” he said.
Yeoh plays the middle running night. Branagh said that her character “has to have showmanship and gravity. He has to convince our audience that he's capable of talking to people on the other side, or at least he's very convincing about it. We were very excited when Michelle joined."
Tina Fey plays Ariadne Oliver, a writer and friend of Poirot. “She is very beloved in the Agatha Christie canon,” Branagh said. "She's someone who gives the best that she gets, and to get that sharpness, quick-wittedness and sass out of Tina was a great quality."
The film also reunites Branagh with his "Belfast" stars Jamie Dornan and Jude Hill, who once again play father and son. “It was great to tap into that relationship, camaraderie and history that they now had,” Branagh said. “It was very helpful for that impact of friendship and familiarity with me, and it had a positive impact on the whole. They made it an easier process for everyone else.”
Unlike "Murder on the Orient Express" and "Death on the Nile," this is the first time "Hallowe'en Party" has been adapted for the big screen. It was previously adapted for television and radio. Branagh said he was excited to not be in the comparison game and have a sense of newness.
“Here, even those who know the novel will see how brilliantly our screenwriter Michael Green has transposed this mystery of the English country house against the eerie Venetian setting,” he said.