Since when Kenneth Branagh it was adapted for film Murder on the Orient Expresshis passion for novels Agatha Christie it continued to grow so much that a franchise was built on it. As for the third film adaptation, Murder in Venice (review here), director who also plays the main character Hercule Poirot, decided to clearly break away from the original paper material, carrying out a bold and new operation, given that his predecessors were faithful in everything. The novel from which the film is inspired is, one might say, called Poirot and the Massacre of the Innocents (in English Halloween Party), was published in 1969 and is part of the lesser-known Lady Mallowan mysteries. Thus, there are many differences between the book and the film, some of which are too obvious. But what are they?
9The movie is not named after the book
One of the first changes Kenneth Branagh made to his film was to its title. The mystery of Agatha Christie in English is called: Halloween Partybut in Italian it translates as Poirot and the Massacre of the Innocents. The title (in the original language) already indicates the setting of the story, which takes place at a celebration on the eve of All Saints’ Day. Murder in Venice, in addition to changing the name, gathers its heroes not for a masquerade, but for a seance, with the aim of communicating with the dead, in this case with the late Alicia Drake. Thus, the title change, taking into account the English version, Ghosts in Venicerefers more to the film’s horror-leaning tone rather than location.