Poison (1991)

Three intercut stories about outsiders, sex and violence. In "Hero," Richie, at age 7, kills his father and flies away. After the event, a documentary in cheesy lurid colors asks what ... See full summary »

Director:

Todd Haynes

Writers:

Jean Genet (novels), Todd Haynes

Stars:

Edith Meeks, Millie White, Larry Maxwell

4 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Edith Meeks	...	Felicia Beacon
Millie White	...	Millie Sklar
Buck Smith	...	Gregory Lazar
Anne Giotta	...	Evelyn McAlpert
Lydia Lafleur	...	Sylvia Manning
Ian Nemser	...	Sean White
Rob LaBelle	...	Jay Wete
Evan Dunsky	...	Dr. MacArthur
Marina Lutz	...	Hazel Lamprecht
Barry Cassidy	...	Officer Rilt
Richard Anthony	...	Edward Comacho
Angela M. Schreiber	...	Florence Giddens
Justin Silverstein	...	Jake
Chris Singh	...	Chris
Edward Allen	...	Fred Beacon

Storyline

Three intercut stories about outsiders, sex and violence. In "Hero," Richie, at age 7, kills his father and flies away. After the event, a documentary in cheesy lurid colors asks what Richie was like and what led up to the shooting. In the black and white "Horror," a scientist isolates the elixir of human sexuality, drinks it, and becomes a festering, contagious murderer; a female colleague who loves him tries to help, to her peril. In "Homo," a prisoner in Fontenal prison is drawn to an inmate whom he knew some years before, at Baton juvenile institute, and whose humiliations he witnessed. This story is told in dim light, except for the bright flashbacks.

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Plot Keywords:

prison | prisoner | sexuality | scientist | love | 

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated NC-17 for explicit sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 August 1991 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Dilitirio

Box Office

Budget:

$250,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$609,524 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bronze Eye Productions, Killer Films, Poison L.P.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Macaulay Culkin was at one time a possibility for the part of young Broom.

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Connections

References A Song of Love (1950)

User Reviews

So screwed up it makes doom generation look like On Golden Pond

I was excited about seeing this because I loved Safe and Velvet Goldmine, but this was just a bizarre bizarre piece of filmmaking. There are I suppose points to be made about the unreasonable fear of the AIDS virus which emerge in the story about the man who drinks the sex drive and becomes a leper, but they weren't so amazingly poignant. Haynes denies that this sequence connects with AIDS of course, so who knows. The story that was the most interesting was the mockumentary about the boy who kills his father, but the structure of the film as three stories proceeding in succession prevents you from really getting interested or emotionally involved in the movie. I didn't know what was so offensive about the prison scene, I just found it boring, as well as the rest of the film.