Poison (film)

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

Contents

• Sweet poison 1991 trailer
• Plot
• Release
• Reception
• Awards and nominations
• References

It is composed of three intercut stories that are partially inspired by the novels of Jean Genet. With its gay themes, Poison is considered an early entry in the New Queer Cinema movement. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 11, 1991. It was released in a limited release on April 5, 1991, by Zeitgeist Films.

Plot

The three intercut stories that comprise Poison are:

Hero: Seven-year-old Richie shoots his father and then flies away. The story is told in the style of an episode of a tabloid television news magazine.

Horror: Told in the style of a "psychotropic horror film" of the mid-1960s, Horror is about a scientist who isolates the "elixir of human sexuality" and, after drinking it, is transformed into a hideous murdering leper.

Homo: The story of a prisoner, John Broom, who finds himself attracted to another prisoner, Jack Bolton, whom he had known and seen humiliated as a youth in a juvenile facility. It is an adaptation of part of Genet's The Miracle of the Rose (1946).

Release

Poison had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 11, 1991. Zeitgeist Films later acquired distribution rights to the film. It was released in a limited release on April 5, 1991

Reception

The film received generally positive reviews, currently holding a 76% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Awards and nominations

Berlin International Film Festival Teddy Award for Best Feature Film, 1991 (winner)

Fantasporto Critics' Award, 1992 (winner); International Fantasy Film Award Best Film, 1992 (nominated)

Independent Spirit Awards Best Director, 1992 (nominated); Best First Feature, 1992 (nominated)

Locarno International Film Festival Golden Leopard, 1991 (nominated)

Sitges - Catalan International Film Festival Special Prize of the Jury, 1991, "For keeping the subversive values inherent to any genuine poetry in force."

Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize - Dramatic, 1991 (winner)