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Poison (1991 film)

Poison is a 1991 American science fiction drama horror film written and directed by Todd Haynes, starring Edith Meeks, Larry Maxwell, Susan Gayle Norman, Scott Renderer, and James Lyons.

Composed of three intercut narratives inspired by the novels of Jean Genet, the gay themes in Poison marked an emerging "queer new wave" in cinema. The film received generally positive reviews.

Plot

Three stories intertwine throughout the film, named in the closing credits:

  • Hero: A seven-year-old shoots his abusive father and then flies away, depicted in the style of a 1980s tabloid television news magazine.
  • Horror: A scientist isolates the "elixir of human sexuality" and, after drinking it, is transformed into a murderous leper, portrayed in the style of a psychotropic 1960s sci-fi horror B movie.
  • Homo: A prisoner finds himself attracted to another inmate, reunited after meeting as youth in a juvenile facility, with scenes alternating between a gritty prison film and recollections evoked as pastoral fantasy.

Cast

Segment: Hero

Segment: Horror

Segment: Homo

Release

After a world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 11, 1991, Zeitgeist Films acquired distribution rights, giving Poison a limited release starting April 5, 1991.

Controversy

U.S. culture war conservatives such as Senator Jesse Helms and Rev. Donald Wildmon of the American Family Association denounced the "explicit porno scenes of homosexuals involved in anal sex".

Reception

The film received generally positive reviews.

Awards and nominations

References

External links