Movie review - "Pretty Poison" (1968) *** (warning: spoilers)

A highly regarded cult film didn't blow me away as much as it's reputation - I think this would be different if I'd stumbled upon it as, say, Pauline Kael seemed to do. Anthony Perkins and especially Tuesday Weld are very good in the lead roles - Perkins is doing a variation of his Norman Bates, but that's always fun, and it's still a performance not a hammy excess. He probably was getting a bit too old, as was Weld (imagine them both eight or so years earlier) but she's very pretty and engaging sociopathic.

The gimmick of the piece is that Perkins starts off as the weird one - prone to arson and making up lies about his CIA connections - but he's soon outmatched by Weld, who kills a nightwatchman then (in the best scene) her own mother. It's a strong gimmick, which has been used much in the past 20 years, especially in the VHS/DVD era.

It's badly directed, like an episode of a 60s TV show, with an ugly look to match. Also some of it's clunky and not as original as it once was. Still, worth checking out especially if you are interested in Tuesday Weld.