8 Agatha Christie Adaptations to Watch Instead of 'A Haunting in Venice'

The British have been exporting their cultural capital since William Shakespeare first hit the big time in the 1600s, and it seems that every century, they add to the list. While not all have stuck, the 1900s brought Agatha Christie, whose popularity and prolific output have made her a staple of mystery reading and on-screen adaptations. However, not every portrayal of Christie's famous detectives, among them Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple, was created equal. This has only become more evident recently, as Kenneth Branagh continues to put on a clinic of "How Not To Play Poirot."

Branagh's latest outing as the famous detective is slightly better than his previous attempts at being a mustachioed Belgian. Death on the Nile and Murder on the Orient Express, both direct adaptations of two of Christie's finest novels, were practically unwatchable despite an A-list lineup due entirely to the miscast Branagh. For the third film,. Branagh decided to do himself a favor by going in the other direction. A Haunting In Venice takes one of Christie's worst novels (Hallowe'en Party, written towards the end of her life). It rewrites it so substantially Branagh's faux-Poirot fits into the story properly for once.

However, unless Branagh plans to rewrite Christie's least famous works for his own ends from here on out, it would be for the best if the world stopped encouraging his predilection for blaspheming one of his country's greatest writers. Here now is a list of other, far better adaptations of Christie's work to watch instead of A Haunting in Venice.