Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Wuchak ...that's the basic plot of 1992's "Poison Ivy" starring Drew Barrymore in the titular role. The movie comes from a long tradition of films about a hot little babysitter (or nanny or friend) taking control of the family by winning the hearts of the kids and seducing the husband. "The Babysitter" (1980) and "Summer Girl" (1983) are two examples, both TV films (available on youtube). In "Poison Ivy" Drew, as Ivy, plays a friend of the awkward misfit Sylvie (Sara Gilbert). Tom Skerritt plays the slowly-seduced husband and Cheryl Ladd the withering (but still beautiful) mother."Poison Ivy" is more stylized than the aforementioned examples and technically better due to a much bigger budget. One of its best highlights is its score, which is equal parts haunting, romantic, melancholic and beautiful. Speaking of melancholic, there's an element of sadness to the story because the family is so wealthy -- living on a mansion on a hill in Los Angeles (shot on location) -- but they're so spiritually bereft. It just goes to show that all the financial success and material possessions in the world can't buy happiness and love.Drew was almost 17 during filming and plays the sultry little tamale well, which brings up why people tend to look down on the film -- it's nothing more than a lethal Lolita tale with a slick garnishment and they write it off as trash exploitation. Regardless, it works for what it is; and, after all, does every film have to be "Ghandi"? Besides, "Poison Ivy" and similar films are more than just "trash exploitation". They're commentaries on the power of a woman or, more specifically, the power of a young beautiful woman. In the story, Ivy comes from a troubled past but, as a blossoming woman, she realizes the power she wields and seems to bask in it.I was involved with a church for a number of years and the granddaughter of the pastor was aged 17-22 at the time. She wasn't in Drew's league, as far as beauty goes -- not even close -- yet she still had power. She would lie about people and spread rumors and, because she was the pastor's granddaughter, some morons would believe her. She started dating a naive relative of mine, who was 19 years her senior, and it was clear that she was just interested in his money. At some point she was able to get his credit card info and bought over $17,000 worth of merchandise without him knowing it until it was too late. She did everything in her power to move into his house, but his aging mother blocked the last attempt at the last minute. His mom said that she could just see the vixen pushing her down the stairs, or something something like this, to get her out of the picture. It was even discovered that the little tart tried to buy life insurance on the guy, which was very odd. You can draw your own conclusions.My point is that these lethal Lolitas exist -- young vixens who use their beauty to cause havoc, ruin lives and take control. Trash exploitation or not, it's good fodder for a movie, particularly if it's done stylishly, like "Poison Ivy".The film runs 88 minutes and the unrated version 93 minutes, both available on the DVD.GRADE: B+

hall895 A horrible script horribly acted makes for a horrible movie. That sums up Poison Ivy. The story, in addition to being quite stupid, is incredibly boring. There's no drama, no excitement. Everything is sadly predictable. And sadly terrible. There's also no passion in this supposed erotic thriller. Sparks don't fly, the whole thing is rather tame. After setting up its rather absurd premise the movie fizzles out very, very quickly. It's a movie which never comes alive.So what's the story? Well, there's this teenage girl Sylvie. She's a bit of a weirdo, a total loner, no friends to be seen anywhere. Then we meet another girl. She's the trashy Lolita type. And she's a real mystery, doesn't even have a name. Sylvie calls her Ivy, that name sticks and before you know it Ivy has moved in with Sylvie's family. Never mind that they know absolutely nothing about this girl. Also don't mind the fact that spending a few minutes with this girl is enough to see that she quite clearly pings the crazy meter. No, they just let her move in and assume everyone will live happily ever after. But Ivy is a bad, bad girl. So she spins her web of deceit and Sylvie and her parents fall right into the trap. Unfortunately nothing about this proves to be at all entertaining and the movie goes from bad to worse to much, much worse.Along with the lousy story we get rather lousy acting. Drew Barrymore plays Ivy and never convinces as the teenage seductress. She comes across as a child trying real hard to be an adult and failing quite miserably at it. Sara Gilbert also shows a lack of maturity in the role of Sylvie. I suppose it's Sylvie we're supposed to sympathize with after Ivy starts screwing things up but the way Gilbert plays the part it's real hard to feel anything for the character. She comes across as a petulant, and rather clueless, brat. The adults in the movie fare no better. Playing Sylvie's not so dear old Dad is Tom Skerritt who never for a moment seems comfortable. He delivers his lines in such a forced, unnatural way it's rather jarring. Meanwhile Cheryl Ladd spends the movie in a drug-induced haze playing Sylvie's very ill mother. Well at least she has something of an excuse for being so lifeless. The movie as a whole has no life, no spark or sizzle. It's a painful slog, thoroughly undramatic, most of the time quite laughable. The story is dumb, the dialogue is atrocious, the performances are wretched. This movie is poisonous indeed.

disdressed12 i guess this movie is OK.it has a few good moments,but it's generally pretty slow.it is watchable for sure,but given the premise i thought they could have developed the story and the characters more.for me,the villain in the movie is a bit weak,which is something i really wish they had worked on a bit more.a stronger villain would have elevated the movie.one thing's for sure,it is a weird movie.i really like the music.it's suitably sombre.the acting is good,for what the actors had to work with.i also like the dark tone of the movie.overall though,i guess i was a little disappointed.the story had so much potential which the movie barely hinted at.for me,Poison Ivy is a 6/10

Falconeer Drew Barrymore turns in the most memorable performance of her career, in this strange, beautifully filmed tale of betrayal and teenage alienation. The introverted Sylvie meets the mysterious Ivy at the posh private school they attend, and become fast friends. It seems Sylvie idolizes Ivy just a bit, for her beauty and fearless, outgoing style. And Ivy, coming from a broken home, begins to envy Sylvies life, as Sylvie lives in a gorgeous home, and has a mother and father who care deeply for her. The tale is more sad than suspenseful, and this is more of a teen drama than 'an erotic thriller. The friendship that develops between the two girls is done in a very believable way, and it is sad when things begin to go wrong, and it becomes clear that Ivy has some deep emotional problems. The plot here is not so original, but so many elements elevate 'Poison ivy' above other films of this type. The acting all around is impressive; Cheryl Ladd is beautifully fragile as the sick, bed-ridden mother, and the relationship that develops between her and her daughter's mysterious friend is touching, as the two look very similar. It is obvious that when 'Georgie' looks at 'Ivy' she is reminded of her own youth, and her own days of being wild. And this is how the connection develops between the mother and Ivy. The daughter unfortunately is unable to connect with her own mom, as the two are so different. 'Gerorgie,' like Ivy, is blond, pretty, and glamorous, while Sylvie is mousy-haired and wears glasses. This causes immediate, but subtle tension between the two girls from the outset. Tom Skeritt is perfect as the brooding, wounded husband, who feels abandoned by a wife who has given up on living. This fact makes him easy prey for Ivy as well, whose desire to become a part of this family soon escalates to a disturbing level. Sara Gilbert is likewise perfectly cast as the shy but intelligent Sylvie. So much attention is paid to small details, which is so important with films of this sort. Ivy's tattoo, which turns out to be fake, and the Egyptian eye that is shaved into Sylvie's scalp, gives these characters depth. The film possesses a strong, atmospheric tone, and Ivy's strange, childlike sexuality has an almost hypnotic quality about it. The background music as well, is lush, and darkly romantic. And many scenes are absolute eye candy, and truly erotic. Among them, the scene where Tom Skeritt's character 'takes' Ivy on the hood of his Mercedes in the forest, while the rain pours down and that haunting melody plays; classic. And the film succeeds in being erotic without being very graphic, and this is not easy to accomplish. I was lucky to see this in the theater, and was happy to find the DVD, which contains both versions of the movie, the theatrical, 'R' rated version, and a slightly more graphic unrated edition. There were some sequels to this, that were released straight to video, and are, not surprisingly, terrible exploitation trash that has nothing to do with this legitimate film. 'Poison Ivy" is an above average 'teen angst' film, and deals effectively with it's subject matter. Recommended, especially for fans of Drew Barrymore. Fans who are only familiar with her more recent films will be amazed at how great she is, and how amazing she looks, in this very special film.