I wanted to but couldn't!

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Poison Ivy has a TV film feel about it and having just watched it recently for the first time in several years I feel that she could have had more credibility if she had continued on the serious side of acting, rather than frivolous rom-coms that became her staple. Drew Barrymore never looked better than she did in this film and it's easy to see why Tom Skerritt is tempted by the teenage temptress. Sara Gilbert, who older readers may remember from Roseanne and younger readers as an occasional actress in The Big Bang Theory, plays a very good supporting role in this tight, memorable, and erotic thriller.There is a little too much on the music playing in the background but all in all, this is a good film to kill an hour-and-a-half with, particularly as it involves Ms Barrymore at her sexy looking best in a role that she excelled in. With one quick seduction, Ivy sets off a chain reaction that makes 'Poison Ivy' one of the most provocative and erotic films, of the erotic thriller genre, filmed to date. If you somehow missed this gem, give it a look soon. It is one of those very rare films you can enjoy again and again..Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

...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+

I read all the positive praise of this movie, so I was ready for some gripping drama, and so I rent it. After 15 minutes I was so disgusted with it, I stopped it, and returned it. Here's why:In all the "Hand that Rocks the Cradle" copycat movies I've seen, they ALL show us right away as how the characters meet. With "Poison Ivy," the movie begins with Ivy and Coop ALREADY BEING FRIENDS, or at the very least being acquainted. To me, what makes these movies terrifying, would be that you just don't know the stranger you happen to meet, bump into, or circumstances where the paths cross. Where did Ivy come from? Instead of scenarios in which we as viewers can witness, all we have are what Ivy tells us. And for the only source of who a character is and where she comes from is from what she says, we cannot trust it. From a legal standpoint, it would be considered "heresay."And not only can we not trust what Ivy tells us, we quickly learn we cannot believe what Cooper tells us either as she lies to Ivy -- and us -- by her claim of her biological father being black, and she adopted, when that wasn't true, and the lie she told Ivy -- and us -- that she cut herself trying to commit suicide, and then told us a few moments later, that THAT wasn't true, either.And Cooper's narrative time-jumps, almost as if she's in a hurry to tell her story, and within a few minutes of the movie we go from them speaking of wishing to be friends to Ivy moving in with the family. I'm sorry, but that transition is too sudden, too abrupt, too jolting, that we as viewers feel it's thrown in our face quickly to sort it out later.And Cooper's parents are the weakest parents I've ever seen. They have no backbone, no real authoritative presence, almost as if they're there for convenience's sake, they have no life outside just existing there, and within those first moments of this movie, it seems Cooper's father has no job-life.And so, for me, we have in the first 15 minutes no characters we really don't know nor trust, nor even care about. IMHO, don't waste your time with this movie. There are plenty of other good ones of this type of story.

Poison Ivy simply tells the story of a young girl who definitely gets what she wants and even resorts to murder if needs be. All four of the main characters you can develop some feeling for, and you could even feel sorry for Drew Barrymore's Ivy, although I did feel as if sometimes some characters were simply failing to believe what was pretty obvious to everyone else.An 18-year-old Barrymore shines in this role, and Cheryl Ladd is also very convincing.A young Leonardo Di Caprio makes an appearance in a perfectly watchable (but also rather short) film, with good direction from the relatively unknown Katt Shea.