Poison

Regular $14/ $10 Matinee
Member $10/ $5 Matinee

Genre

---

Release Year

1991

Director

Todd Haynes

Producer

Christine Vachon

Cast

Tony Pemberton, James Lyons, Larry Maxwell

Country

USA

Runtime

85 min

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Part of our CELEBRATING PRIDE Series

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival

The second feature directed by Haynes—the Oscar-nominated filmmaker of FAR FROM HEAVEN and CAROL—this groundbreaking American Indie was the most fervently debated film of the early 1990s and a trailblazing landmark of queer cinema. A work of immense visual invention, Haynes’ spectacular follow-up to his legendary SUPERSTAR: THE KAREN CARPENTER STORY is audacious, disturbing and thrillingly cinematic.

Inspired by the writings of Jean Genet, Poison deftly interweaves trio of transgressive tales-“Hero,” “Horror” and “Homo”-that build toward 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 ’50s B-movie melodrama, is a gothic tale of a mad sex experiment which unleashes a disfiguring plague; while “Homo” explores the obsessive sexual relationship between two prison inmates.

A runaway hit which made national headlines when it was attacked by right-wing figures including Dick Armey, Ralph Reed and minister Donald Wildmon, POISON is unsettling, unforgettable and thoroughly entertaining.

Presented in Partnership with Out Montclair as a part of Montclair Pride 2022

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