Poison
Todd Haynes’s audacious triptych fuses queer drama, body horror, and science fiction into a disturbing portrait of outsiders shaped by desire, punishment, and violence.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Dense
- Violence
- Graphic
- disturbing
- provocative
- bleak
- late night arthouse viewing
- horror double feature
What critics said
Critics generally regard the film as a bold, provocative, formally inventive work whose striking ideas and imagery outweigh its deliberately abrasive excesses.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The three stories use lurid faux-documentary color, black-and-white horror imagery, and dim prison scenes with bright flashbacks.
The prison and scientist narratives center same-sex desire, sexuality, humiliation, and outsider status in a confrontational independent-film context.
The scientist’s elixir produces a festering, contagious murderer, linking erotic desire to disease and bodily horror.
The prison narrative recalls abuse and humiliation at Fontenal prison and Baton juvenile institute.
Films like Poison, and why
The Hours
shared interwoven narratives, queer subject matter, confrontational sexuality, and experimental genre blending
The Fly
shared art-horror sensibility, bodily transformation, disturbing imagery, and outsider protagonists
Bent
shared queer themes, prison setting, sexual violence, and psychologically intense dramatic storytelling
Swoon
shared structural experimentation, provocative sexuality, and bleakly poetic treatment of marginalized lives
Movie Details
- Director
- Todd Haynes
- Release Date
- 1991-04-05
- Runtime
- 85 min
- Rating
- 6.0 / 10 (97)
Cast
- Edith Meeks
- Millie White
- Buck Smith
- Anne Giotta
- Lydia Lafleur
- Ian Nemser
- Rob LaBelle
- Evan Dunsky
- Marina Lutz
- Barry Cassidy
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Criterion Channel, Kino Film Collection
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Poison about?
- Todd Haynes’s audacious triptych fuses queer drama, body horror, and science fiction into a disturbing portrait of outsiders shaped by desire, punishment, and violence.
- What is Poison like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Poison as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as dense.
- Is Poison violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Poison as graphic.
- What did critics think of Poison?
- Critics generally regard the film as a bold, provocative, formally inventive work whose striking ideas and imagery outweigh its deliberately abrasive excesses.
- Which films are like Poison?
- Films with a similar feel include The Hours, The Fly, Bent, and Swoon.
- How long is Poison?
- Poison runs 85 minutes.
- Where can I watch Poison?
- In United States, Poison streams on Criterion Channel, Kino Film Collection.
