Like a possessed spray can of Mr Sheen - both scary at times and undeniably polished, Branagh has been served well by Christie in recent ventures, albeit with an enviable cast of talent supporting him.
This is not as riddled with demanding stardom jostling for attention, though still employs the talents of a handful of famous faces.
Here, Branagh takes on Christies 'Hallowe'en Party' which is by its nature more sombre but no less glamourous in its presentation than some of the chaotic events from previous efforts in the series. Venice itself is served well, represented in a picture postcard perfect fashion with its pleasing, occasionally jaw-dropping, beauty.
As you can imagine, production design is sumptuous, an expectation Branagh is not afraid to embrace these days, but the story is muted and perhaps dawdles longer than it needs to, as if Branagh feels his direction needs to be revelled in more than the story he is trying to tell. True or not, it would be wise for him to remember his place.
His direction is frustrating at times with an addition of low light that makes events edited choppy and haphazard at times, but we can forgive this due to some decent performances. Of the three projects in the series, this is probably the weakest and most demanding of its mass audience, relying more on the supernatural and less on guile, though I'm sure others would argue.