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85 minutes ‧ Unrated ‧ 1991
Cast: Edith Meeks, Larry Maxwell, Susan Norman
Director: Todd Haynes
Genres: Drama, Horror

I was not impressed by Poison (1991). That may sound harsh when talking about a film with this much art-house credibility, especially one directed by Todd Haynes, but admiration and enjoyment are not always the same thing. I can appreciate the ambition here: the formal experimentation, the refusal to tell a story in a neat or comforting way. But as a viewing experience, Poison left me cold, confused, and more irritated than moved.

The film is built around three separate storylines that keep cutting into one another. There is “Hero,” which plays like a trashy tabloid TV segment about a little boy, Richie, who shoots his abusive father and then supposedly flies away. There is “Horror,” a grim black-and-white pseudo-B-movie about Dr. Graves, a scientist who drinks his own experimental serum and turns into a diseased, hunted outcast. Then there is “Homo,” the prison storyline, where John Broom reconnects with fellow inmate Jack Bolton in a world shaped by memory, desire, and punishment. On paper, that sounds bold. On screen, it’s three films fighting for space without ever settling into a satisfying shape.

Poison was not some forgotten flop. It premiered at Sundance, won the Grand Jury Prize, and earned about $787,280 worldwide against an estimated $250,000 budget. For a defiantly experimental independent film, that is a respectable run, and it became an important early landmark in what came to be called New Queer Cinema. So yes, this film matters historically, politically, and artistically.

However, importance does not equate to personal attachment. I appreciate art-house films, even difficult and abrasive ones that resist easy interpretation. I am usually willing to meet a film more than halfway if its vision feels clear and compelling. Poison did not have that effect on me. Its three storylines seem to compete rather than build on one another, and the film might have been stronger if Haynes had committed fully to just one.

Copyright ©️2026 by Frank Gaimari