Marlin Darrah’s An Egypt Affair has all the sense and aesthetic of a bygone adventure novel. And despite an expected overindulgence in melodrama and contrived plotting, the film is still quite amusing. However, what tilts the story from so-bad-it’s-good to eye-rolling is how starkly derivative is. Save for the thematic focus of an affair, or many interlocking affairs, rather than a murder, An Egypt Affair is bizarrely similar to Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile to the point of near-simulacrum.
Anyone who has seen Kenneth Branagh’s 2022 Death on the Nile will recognize the general situation. Two couples, purportedly allies but clearly hiding many fevered deceptions, take to the Nile on a romantic steamboat cruise. Unbeknownst to them, they will be joined by another couple whose presence unravels and reveals each individual character’s schemes.
An Egypt Affair was shot entirely on location in Egypt, along the Nile between Luxor and Aswan. The cinematography is commensurately marvelous, especially when focusing on the architecture of the surrounding Egyptian locales. Every shot has a tangible materiality to it, creating a wonderful degree of immersion for the viewer. In addition, every character in the ensemble is well cast, bringing a grounded feel to their personalities. All of these features combine with a fun and cocksure pace, providing the film with a strong sense of impetus.

“Two couples, purportedly allies, but clearly hiding many fevered deceptions, take to the Nile on a romantic steamboat cruise..”
But while the An Egypt Affair has a lot to enjoy, there is almost no aspect of the plot itself that doesn’t feel refurbished. Every aspect is so predictable, from the plot threads to how the characters fit together into the narrative tapestry, that one can (and does) accurately guess who is being duplicitous and precisely how early in the film. Furthermore, the characters frequently reveal their malignant intentions in such obvious ways that their personalities are rendered flat and often unbelievable. Unfortunately, this shatters the necessary sense of mystery and anticipation that adventure films (and novels) demand to be engaging.
While being derivative is no great offense for, effectively, a travel channel movie, it often becomes unbearable when it can be traced nearly 1:1 to a story as well known as Death on the Nile. And though it is also no noteworthy crime to use a well-regarded story to inspire another, even something as pulpy as An Egypt Affair, the result needs to be tweaked enough to be original in its own right; some aspect of the film must stand in its own right, and some aspect of the story must be surprising.
Fans of the genre, and especially fans of Marlin Darrah’s body of work, will certainly look past these flaws and revel in every escapade An Egypt Affair has to offer. But newcomers to the genre will be put off by the sloppy plotting and the inconsistent script, despite the film’s buoyant demeanor. Certainly, in the directorial department, the An Egypt Affair hits all the necessary marks. However, the lazy copy-and-paste writing and lack of narrative polish impede what could have been a universally enjoyable film, despite the genre.