Rating: 
Summary: An uneven experimental film
Review: "Poison" was an early film by Todd Haynes and contains three stories about bizarre lives, namely: a doctor who ingested a deadly sex hormone that left him disfigured and highly contagious, a suburban nightmare about a masochistic/saintly child who killed his father, and a prison story by Genet. The prison story was the least experimental and most successful of the three. Haynes explored the power games, sexual needs, and embittered lives of the inmates and the strange way love was defined by those involved. The doctor's story was extremely melodramatic and the suburban story was mainly about the strange personalities inhabiting the neighborhood. All things considered it was, and probably was intended to be, an exploration of just how abnormal normal can be in some circumstances. Not an enjoyable picture, but it was thought provoking.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting take on the dark side of sexuality
Review: After loving "Velvet Goldmine" and finding "Far From Heaven" visually stunning, I was curious to see Todd Haynes' first film (which won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes, and probably launched his career). Even working with an apparently very low budget and unknown actors, Haynes still manages to create an original and thought-provoking film. He weaves together three stories, which are all different in terms of time period and tone, but that all deal with the darker side of sexuality, and the devastating consequences it can have. In "Hero" (shot like a documentary, and taking place in the early 80's), a young boy kills his father, and the more the story is explored, the more it is revealed that both of his parents' sexual behavior probably brought about the tragedy. "Horror" takes place in the 1950's, is shot in black and white, and has the feel of a campy horror movie. In that story an ambitious scientist is somehow able to turn the human sexual drive into a serem, but when he accidently ingests it it turns him into a sexually predatory leper. In "Homo", which takes place in an early 20th century prison, an inmate becomes sexually obsessed with another inmate who he watched being abused years earlier in reform school. The stories are all brilliantly weaved together, and the longer the film goes on, the more the viewer is able to see the common threads. Overall, it is interesting to see the first film of a director who is just beginning to hit his stride.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting first film by an exciting director
Review: After the beautiful "Far From Heaven" and the dazzling "Velvet Goldmine", I was curious to see Todd Haynes' first film. Despite being made on a shoe-string budget and featuring unknown actors, "Poison" still manages to be a visually innovative, provocative and intelligent film. The film is made up of three seperate stories interwoven together. In "Hero", which takes place in the early 80's and is filmed in documentary style, a young boy kills his father, and the community tries to figure out why. In "Horror", which looks like a campy old black and white horror film, a scientist manages to turn the human sex drive into a serem, and then becomes a sexually predatory leper when he accidently drinks it. In "Homo", a man in prison in the early 20th century becomes obsessed with a fellow inmate who he watched being abused years before in a reformatory. Initially, the stories seem to have nothing in common, but the more the film goes on you start to see the connection ... they all focus on the darker side of human sexuality, and its consequences. Overall, this is an interesting first film by a terrific director who is just starting to hit his stride.
Rating: 
Summary: Early Todd Haynes masterpiece
Review: Beautiful, spare, elegant cinematography pared with a sophisticated marriage of irony, sincerity, homage and synthesis -- so exquisitely pomo it's heartbreaking.The connections between the three narratives aren't immediately obvious; repeated viewings make this film all the more rich. But then those thinking about buying this DVD probably don't need me to convince them. Anyone who's given this film one star is clearly being dismissive (and hasty) not critical.
Rating:
Summary: Three Cerebrally Interjecting Stories...
Review: Haynes attempts to present a concept through three different stories or perspectives, "Hero", "Horror", and "Homo". The three stories interject one another in crucial moments leaving the audience thinking about what Haynes is trying to tell us. In "Hero", a child is painted as a trouble maker who shot his abusive father when he was attacking his deceitful mother. The second story, "Horror", depicts a scientist who is in the search of truth, but by mistake becomes contaminated as a leper. "Homo" presents the story of a gay convict who has grown up in institutions and jails where he meets another guy who went to the same reformatory school as him. The film will leave the audience pondering and reflecting what the stories had in common.
Rating:
Summary: Three Cerebrally Interjecting Stories...
Review: Haynes attempts to present a concept through three different stories or perspectives, "Hero", "Horror", and "Homo". The three stories interject one another in crucial moments leaving the audience thinking about what Haynes is trying to tell us. In "Hero", a child is painted as a trouble maker who shot his abusive father when he was attacking his deceitful mother. The second story, "Horror", depicts a scientist who is in the search of truth, but by mistake becomes contaminated as a leper. "Homo" presents the story of a gay convict who has grown up in institutions and jails where he meets another guy who went to the same reformatory school as him. The film will leave the audience pondering and reflecting what the stories had in common.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the best films I've ever seen!
Review: Haynes brilliantly intercuts 3 very different stories so that each illuminates and comments on the others. I've seen it 5 or 6 times, and each time I see more in it.
Rating: 
Summary: Dont take Poison
Review: I don't like to give up, but Poison wins. I very much hope that those who see this film first will still be willing to watch Haynes 'Safe', one of the most interesting films I've ever seen. Those who praise this one offer no particularly creditable reasons. Parts of the homosexual segments are damned sexy, maybe the rest was thrown in as window dressing. Don't say I haven't warned you.
Rating:
Summary: Pointless & Disjointed
Review: I haven't seen a film this pointless & disjointed since Wim Wenders' "The End of Violence". Three stories interwooven, with absolutely nothing to do with each other. The DVD was full screen with very "lo-fi" sound & picture quality... was this for effect or just a very poor copy? Either way, this film has the look and feel of a student "arthouse" film... with the student showing no exceptional talent for film making.
Rating:
Summary: Poison is an eye opener
Review: I loved "Hero" and "Horror". "Homo" was good but I had to see it twice to understand it. The reason might be because of the flashback. I did not know whose flashback it was. I liked the way "Hero" was told in a documentary. I also like the way "Homo" was told in a 1950's sort of movie
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