51
Metascore
24 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75The Associated PressBob ThomasThe Associated PressBob ThomasPoison Ivy was directed by Katt Shea and produced by Andy Ruben. They collaborated on a script that is tightly written, loaded with portentous events and a few surprises. Obviously, they operated on a tight budget, but they have overcome the limitations by wise casting. Drew Barrymore is a revelation. [07 May 1992]
- 70Time OutTime OutIts willingness to take risks, and its insights into the frailties and confusions of teenage friendships ('She might have been lonelier than I was', reflects Coop at the end), lift the film right out of the rut.
- 63Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertHitchcock liked typecasting, he said, because if an actor was right for a role, that made less work for the director in getting the audience to accept the character. Here the casting is so wrong that nothing quite works.
- 63Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversThough Poison Ivy is more than whoopee, audiences may find the movie easier to get off on than to get into. But why settle for the usual walk around the exploitation block when Shea offers a wild ride with the top down into uncharted territory?
- 50Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAustin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenProblem is, the movie shifts gears abruptly in mid-story and what had previously been merely melodramatic extremism turns into hyperbolic horror.
- 50Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumDirected by Katt Shea Ruben from a script she wrote with producer Andy Ruben, this starts off with some spark and drive, in part because of the writing and playing of Gilbert's character, but gradually sinks into cliche and contrivance as the familiar genre moves take over, dragging down the characters, plot, and style.
- 50Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanOvertones are about all there is to Poison Ivy. The movie isn’t smart, but it never achieves true sleaziness either.
- 50TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazinePoison Ivy doesn't exactly keep one at the edge of one's seat throughout, but it certainly holds the interest.
- Drew Barrymore is terrific as a jailbait fatale who manipulates the members of a dysfunctional well-to-do family in this gothic sexploitation item. But while Poison Ivy tries hard to work up a sweat, it ends up so over the top that it can’t help but go splat.
- 40Washington PostHal HinsonWashington PostHal HinsonFor the most part the actors' work seems incomplete because their characters are cut off before they can fully blossom. It's as if Shea didn't trust her own strengths enough to allow them to carry the movie. In giving in to the cheap thrills of the psycho genre, she's trashed the very qualities that initially made her work so impressive.