Poison is one of those bizarre movies that would have been a curiosity had the Sundance Film Festival folk not awarded it a Grand Jury Prize last year, thereby transforming it into a film to be reckoned with. Written and directed by Todd Haynes, whose underground hit Superstar: The Life of Karen Carpenter (with an all-Barbie doll cast) was rapidly wrapped in litigation upon its release, Poison is a trilogy of interwoven tales. "Hero" is a mock documentary about a 7-year-old sadomasochist named Richie Beacon who murdered his father and then "flew out the window." Fictional interviews with neighbors and acquaintances reveal that Richie liked to be spanked, end enjoyed crapping on his neighbor's lawn. "Horror," shot in black and white, is a parody of a B-movie about a doctor named Thomas Graves (Larry Maxwell) who in trying to isolate the sex drive accidentally ingests a serum he has produced. In the confused story which ensues, Graves begins to sprout lesions on his face, and runs around kissing women (which spreads the "disease"). The connection with AIDS is apparent, the reason why less so. The third story "Homo," inspired by the writings of prisoner/writer Jean Genet, is the most accomplished and the most disturbing of the trio. Broom (Scott Renderer) and Bolton (John Lyons) are a pair of prison inmates whose aggressor/victim relationship is seen alongside flashbacks of their idyllic days at a reform school for boys. It is this segment which has earned the film its notoriety, although the excesses come mostly in the form of tone rather than content. Aggressively erotic, "Homo" also includes one of the most repulsive scenes in modern cinema as a group of boys all take turns trying to spit into the open mouth of another boy. What keeps Poison buzzing along is its clever narrative structure. Eschewing the sequential format of traditional short story collections, Poison constantly intercuts between its three stories--a technique which tends to diminish some of the narrative shortcomings in the film while alternately heightening the suspense. Ultimately, Poison is filmmaking for the few rather than the many, and granted that voices from the "beat me, kick me" school of thinking may not be plentiful in popular culture, arty S&M films still do not represent a serious chunk of any general collection. Libraries may want to purchase if demand warrants, especially since this is the kind of title that video stores will probably ignore. (R. Pitman) [DVD Review—May 24, 2011—Zeitgeist Films, 85 min., not rated, $29.99—Making its first appearance on DVD, 1991's Poison features a good transfer with DVD extras including archival audio commentary by director Todd Haynes, producer Christine Vachon and star/editor James Lyons, a Sundance Film Festival Q&A (21 min.), the 2010 short 'Last Address' by filmmaker Ira Sachs (9 min.), poster concept art, behind-the-scenes Polaroids, trailers, and a 16-page booklet. Bottom line: a fine extras package for Haynes' controversial debut feature.]
Poison
color & b&w. 85 min. Fox Lorber Home Video. Rated: NC-17, R, and unrated (all three versions are available) Library Journal
Poison
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: