Poison Ivy

"Ivy thought her best friend had the perfect house, the perfect family, the perfect life. So she took them."

1992 1h 32m EN

😐

5.4

MID

★5.4TMDB · 420

ThrillerDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A seductive teen befriends an introverted high school student and schemes her way into the lives of her wealthy family.

“Ivy thought her best friend had the perfect house, the perfect family, the perfect life. So she took them.”

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Where to watch · US

Cast

Drew Barrymore
Ivy
Tom Skerritt
Darryl Cooper
Sara Gilbert
Sylvie Cooper
Cheryl Ladd
Georgie Cooper
Alan Stock
Bob
Jeanne Sakata
Isabelle
E.J. Moore
Kid
J.B. Quon
Another Kid

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Katt Shea
Writers: Melissa Goddard, Andy Ruben, Katt Shea
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 61% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

34 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Poison Ivy Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Katt Shea, shot by Phedon Papamichael. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by David Michael Frank. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Gina Mittelman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Drew Barrymore and Tom Skerritt and Sara Gilbert carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Katt Shea directs. Phedon Papamichael behind the camera. David Michael Frank scores. Gina Mittelman cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $3.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Earned back only 61% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
334 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Part of the "Poison Ivy Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Katt Shea, shot by Phedon Papamichael. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by David Michael Frank. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Gina Mittelman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Drew Barrymore and Tom Skerritt and Sara Gilbert carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Ivy thought her best friend had the perfect house, the perfect family, the perfect life. So she took them.".
10IMDB entry: tt0105156 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 14 themes, including "suicide", "rape", "manipulation", "father".

The technical file

Cinematography: Phedon Papamichael
Original score: David Michael Frank
Editing: Gina Mittelman
Production design: Virginia Lee
Costume design: Ellen Gross
Makeup / hair: Debbie Zoller
Sound: R. Russell Smith
Stunt coordinator: Merritt Yohnka
Runtime: 92 min · 1h 32m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $3,000,000
Box office: $1,829,804
Return: 61% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Poison Ivy (1992)

Part of

Poison Ivy Collection

Poison Ivy is a 1992 American thriller drama film directed by Katt Shea. It stars Drew Barrymore, Sara Gilbert, Tom Skerritt, and Cheryl Ladd. It is the first installment in a film series, which includes three direct-to-video sequels. In 1996, New Line Cinema released the direct-to-video sequel Poison Ivy II: Lily, starring Alyssa Milano. In 1997, the second direct-to-video release, Poison Ivy: The New Seduction, starring Jaime Pressly, was released. In 2008, the fourth film in the franchise, Poison Ivy: The Secret Society, premiered on the Lifetime Movie Network.

Also by

Katt Shea

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2022-03-13
★ 7/10
A luscious Lolita takes over the family... ...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 an alluring 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 flicks (available on youtube). In "Poison Ivy" Drew, as Ivy, plays a friend of the awkward misfit Sylvie (Sara Gilbert). Tom Skerritt plays the aloof 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 proceedings 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 female. 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 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 whatever to get her out of the picture. It was even discovered that the lil' 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 take control, cause havoc and ruin lives. Trash exploitation or not, it's good fodder for a movie, particularly if it's done stylishly, like "Poison Ivy". The film is short and sweet at 88 minutes with the unrated version running 93 minutes. GRADE: B+

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