Now I’m completely caught up on modern Poirot. Something I liked about this was the creepy vibe. All three of the films have done well to establish their respective atmospheres, and in this one, with the characters locked up in a haunted Venetian former orphanage, the creep vibes were on maximum overdrive. Looking at the release dates of this and the previous film, it feels surprising they had such a quick turnaround, but perhaps the pandemic limitations gave them the opportunity to write the scripts and lock in contracts for several films while they awaited the feasibility to improve. This may be my least favorite of the films, but I did enjoy it. Loved the ambience, as I said, and some of the mechanics of the mystery’s specifics were very enjoyable. It also very nicely, and very finally, brings Poirots three-film arc to a close and permits the character to move on to one-off adventures that don’t wallow in the malaise and exhaustion he had developed at the introduction Orient Express. I will say, I didn’t feel as disoriented by the whodunnit: I called it quite early and I’m not the type to pride myself on such. But I found myself so distracted by the haunting that it was easy to forget the characters were trying to solve a murder.

I also believe this film potentially introduces a devastating future antagonist for Hercule, and I’m fucking here for it if I’m on point.