Poison Ivy II: Lily is a 1996 erotic thriller/drama film starring Alyssa Milano, and a direct-to-video sequel to the 1992 film Poison Ivy, starring Drew Barrymore. It was directed by Anne Goursaud and written by Chloe King. The original music score is composed by Joseph Williams. The film is marketed with the tagline "Passion. Seduction. Betrayal. Lily wanted to be just like Ivy."
Plot summary
Lily is a sheltered art student from Michigan attending college in California. She finds an apartment and she soon notices her roommates Tanya, Bridgette and Robert, all art students, aren't quite normal. For the first time out of her village, she is still used to her protected life in Michigan and frequently calls her parents. One day she discovers a box of items belonging to Ivy, a girl she has never met before. In the box, she finds nude pictures of the girl and her diary. She is soon drawn to the content, also desiring for the girl's sexual confidence and fearlessness. In class, she has trouble expressing herself, unlike Gredin, an attractive co-student and sculptor she soon starts dating. Meanwhile, she has found a job, babysitting Daphne, the daughter of her art teacher Donald Falk.
Lily slowly becomes obsessed with Ivy's letters and photos, attempting to take over her image. Soon enough, she cuts her hair, pierces her belly button and starts wearing more revealing clothes. Gredin grows even more attracted to her and it doesn't take long before they start having sex. He is unamused by the amount of private time she spends with Donald, though, but she explains it's because of the babysitting. She inspires Donald to perform art again, having long been afraid to express himself. She agrees to posing nude for him and finds a way to express herself in the meantime. During this process, he secretly falls in love with her, which has a great deal of impact on his marriage to Angela.
One day, Lily catches Gredin and Bridgette together. Feeling upset, she starts to rebel, thereby estranging herself from her friends. At a party, she enjoys the attention she is getting from men and she amuses herself, until she sees Gredin intimately dancing with another girl. Trying to make him jealous, she kisses a masked guy, turning out to be Robert. She eventually spends the night with Gredin, but he dumps her the next day, explaining she has changed too much. Meanwhile, Angela has found Donald's drawing of Lily and thinks he has an affair with her. Donald, already depressed since he saw Lily kissing Gredin, takes it out on Lily. He later claims he is in love with her and tries to kiss her. She is initially unamused by his attempts, but they eventually heavily make out with each other, until they are interrupted. She leaves and soon reunited with Gredin.
Not much later, she is invited for dinner at the Falk family and brings Gredin with her, which upsets Donald. When they are alone in a room, Donald forces himself up to Lily. She tries to stop him, but has no success. They are eventually caught in the act by Daphne, who runs away and is hit by a car. Lily, traumatized by what happened that night, returns home and destroys everything that has to do with Ivy. She is surprised by a psychotic Donald, who attacks her. Gredin tries to survive her, but he beats him up and even tries to stab him. She tries to run away by going to the roof. He follows her and eventually falls off to his death. In the end, Lily and Gredin say they love each other and they finally decide to be with each other.
Main cast
Production and release
The film is known as one of lead actress Alyssa Milano's attempts to break her child star image. She appeared in several soft erotic films, including Poison Ivy II. When this sequel was in production, Milano was cast because of her 'recognition factor'.[1] Director Anne Goursaud worked previously with Milano on Embrace of the Vampire (1994), and they worried Poison Ivy II wouldn't be as daring as that film. They decided to go into another direction, not using Milano as the primary sex symbol in the film, but her co-star Johnathon Schaech.[2]
After the release, it was mostly promoted for the sex scenes featuring Milano. Goursaud admitted that the film mostly had a following with boys, but insisted that there were female fans as well.[3] Although not as successful as Embrace with the Vampire, the film did well at the box office.[4] Critics, however, dismissed the film and it received mostly negative reviews.
References
- ^ February 24, 1996 - Billboard - p.57
- ^ Williams, Linda Ruth - The erotic thriller in contemporary cinema - p.413-414
- ^ Williams, Linda Ruth - The erotic thriller in contemporary cinema - p.414
- ^ Williams, Linda Ruth - The erotic thriller in contemporary cinema - p.410
External links
