THE chilling teaser trailer and poster for Kenneth Branagh’s ‘A Haunting in Venice’ is available now. The thriller was recently screened at the 2023 CinemaCon Convention in Las Vegas.
The supernatural flick is based on the novel ‘Hallowe’en Party’ by Agatha Christie. Directed by and starring Oscar winner Kenneth Branagh as famed detective Hercule Poirot, it will open in cinemas in the US on September 14. It also stars recent Oscar winner Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh.
An acting ensemble portrays a cast of unforgettable characters, including Kyle Allen, Camille Cottin, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, Jude Hill, Ali Khan, Emma Laird, Kelly Reilly and Riccardo Scamarcio.
Branagh also announced that Hildur Guđnadóttir, the acclaimed composer from Iceland, will compose the score.
She won an Oscar, Golden Globe, Grammy, and Bafta for ‘Joker’ and an Emmy and Grammy for ‘Chernobyl’. Guđnadóttir most recently scored ‘Tar’ and ‘Women Talking’.
‘A Haunting in Venice’ is set in eerie, post-World War II Venice on All Hallows’ Eve. The terrifying mystery features the return of the celebrated sleuth, 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.
According to Variety, Yeoh plays the medium running the evening. Branagh said her character “has to have a sense of showmanship and gravity.
"She has to convince our audience that she’s capable of speaking to people on the other side, or at least is very convincing about that. We were so excited when Michelle came on board.”
Reuniting many of the filmmakers behind 2017’s ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ and 2022’s ‘Death on the Nile’, the screenplay is written by Oscar nominee Michael Green (‘Logan’).
The producers are Branagh, Judy Hofflund, Ridley Scott, and Simon Kinberg, with Louise Killin, James Prichard, and Mark Gordon serving as executive producers.
An artist who defies classification and disregards traditional generic boundaries, Guðnadóttir has earned a unique place on the contemporary music scene thanks to her virtuosity, versatility and originality.
Now based in Berlin, she is enjoying unprecedented international recognition for her work. She is the first female composer ever to win the Academy, Golden Globe and Bafta awards in the same season.
She has also set a new record for the highest number of awards ever received in a single season by a composer. Her body of work includes scores for films such as ‘Tom of Finland’, ‘Journey’s End’ and 20 episodes of the Icelandic TV series ‘Trapped’.
With Sam Slater, she co-composed the video game score ‘Battlefield 2042’ for Electronic Arts’ massively successful Battlefield franchise. The score won a Society of Composers & Lyricists Award. – The Vibes, April 28, 2023
