Poison
United States • 1991
Director
Synopsis
Inspired by the writings of Jean Genet, Todd Haynes’s debut feature deftly interweaves a trio of transgressive tales—“Hero,” “Horror,” and “Homo”—that build towards a devastating climax. “Hero,” shot in mock-TV-documentary style, tells a bizarre story of suburban patricide and a miraculous flight from justice; “Horror,” filmed like a delirious 1950s B-movie melodrama, is a gothic tale of a mad sex experiment that unleashes a disfiguring plague; and “Homo” explores the obsessive sexual relationship between two prison inmates. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival, POISON went on to become one of the most controversial and celebrated films of the decade, attacked by right-wing demagogues and heralded as a landmark of the emerging New Queer Cinema movement.
Synopsis
Inspired by the writings of Jean Genet, Todd Haynes’s debut feature deftly interweaves a trio of transgressive tales—“Hero,” “Horror,” and “Homo”—that build towards a devastating climax. “Hero,” shot in mock-TV-documentary style, tells a bizarre story of suburban patricide and a miraculous flight from justice; “Horror,” filmed like a delirious 1950s B-movie melodrama, is a gothic tale of a mad sex experiment that unleashes a disfiguring plague; and “Homo” explores the obsessive sexual relationship between two prison inmates. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival, POISON went on to become one of the most controversial and celebrated films of the decade, attacked by right-wing demagogues and heralded as a landmark of the emerging New Queer Cinema movement.
Credits
Crew
DirectorTodd Haynes
WriterTodd Haynes
CinematographerMaryse Alberti
ComposerJames Bennett
EditorJames Lyons, Todd Haynes
ProducerChristine Vachon
Cast
Edith Meeksas Felicia Beacon ("Hero")
Millie Whiteas Millie Sklar ("Hero")
Buck Smithas Gregory Lazar ("Hero")