A Haunting in Venice is the September 2023 release from 20th Century Studios based on the Agatha Christie novel Hallowe’en Party. The story follows Hercule Poirot in a post-World War II Venice, Italy. He has been living in solitude but agrees to attend a seance. When a fellow guest gets murdered at the event, it’s Poirot on the case. But where was A Haunting in Venice filmed?
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Venice, Italy
This may seem a bit obvious, but A Haunting in Venice was filmed partially in Venice. According to an interview with Production Designer John Paul Kelly, they wanted to use locations that wouldn’t be recognizable to tourists.
Poirot’s house was made up of a number of locations. The majority of the inside of the home was made up of soundstages, but the outside was made up of places in Venice that you can visit. Poirot’s garden scenes were filmed in the Palazzo Malipiero, and the scenes on the rooftop terrace were shot at the Conservatorio di Musica Benedetto Marcello di Venezia, a historical conservatory named after Benedetto Marcello.
Though Venice was spared from bombings during World War II, a lot has changed since 1947, and much of the interior decorating needed to be reconstructed. Michael Green, the screenwriter of A Haunting in Venice, said that he feels that the Venetian Palazzo is one of the most haunted. In an interview with House Beautiful, Green said the city was selected due to its “throw-a-body-in-the-river kind of feel” and because they wanted “to take advantage and use the inherent spookiness and magic” that the city holds.
Filming also occurred at the Laguna Veneta and various canals that flow through the city. The crew also used the Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Campo San Giacomo dell’Orio, which are two churches on the island.
Pinewood Studios, England
Though the original Agatha Christie novel took place in England, Green took the artistic liberty of changing the setting. That being said, parts of the movie, including many of the rooms inside the palazzo, were filmed outside of London at Pinewood Studios. Though they were on soundstages, Kelly wanted the actors to feel like they had been transported back in time to 1940s Venice.
Reading, England
Along with filming on location and on soundstages, a one-third-scale model was built in Reading, England. This was done to ensure the waves crashed in the ways the director wanted on the outside of the palazzo.
