Drew Barrymore in POISON IVY (1992) presented by Strange Brew
February 4 : 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
This film is presented by St. Louis’s long-running cult film series Strange Brew — winner of the 2025 A-List Award for Best Movie Night in St. Louis. Strange Brew programmer Jon Scorfina will provide an introduction.
“Why settle for the usual walk around the exploitation block when [Poison Ivy] offers a wild ride with the top down into uncharted territory?” – Rolling Stone
Drew Barrymore stars as a seductive teenager nicknamed “Ivy” who befriends an introverted high school student named Sylvie (Sara Gilbert) and cons her way into her wealthy family in POISON IVY (1992). Sylvie and Ivy quickly become best friends. Ivy moves into Sylvie’s family’s home and the two girls begin exchanging clothes and even share a bed. Ivy ultimately helps Sylvie come out of her withdrawn shell. However, Ivy deviously charms Sylvie’s chronically ill mother (Cheryl Ladd) and develops an uncomfortable relationship with her father (Tom Skerritt), a recovering alcoholic; soon sinister cracks in their friendship and family devolve into something more deadly.
Directed by Katt Shea, POISON IVY became the perfect vehicle for Drew Barrymore to return from a brief acting hiatus and transition from a troubled, child actress into more adult roles. Billed as an erotic thriller during the genre’s 1990s heyday — distributor New Line Cinema even described the film as “a teenage Fatal Attraction,” — POISON IVY has recently been reinterpreted and embraced as a tragic sapphic romance. POISON IVY was initially a box office bomb but became a word-of-mouth cult classic, spawning three direct-to-video sequels and landing the character Ivy on Entertainment Weekly’s list of cinema’s top “bad girls.”
Arkadin does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. However, we encourage researching titles to determine if a screening may contain content that could be upsetting to you. Please feel free to contact us for guidance on specific films. Information about content can also be found on Common Sense Media, IMDB and DoesTheDogDie.com, as well as through general internet searches.
Theater Policies
- All seats are first-come, first-served.
- The theater opens 30 minutes prior to showtime, except for “Happy Hour” events and pre-shows when the theater opens at the listed start time.
- All ages are welcome at Arkadin except for Drinkolas Cage events, which are restricted to 21+. We follow the MPAA rating guidelines for all other films.
- Tickets can be purchased using the BUY TICKETS link above. Upon ordering, you will receive a confirmation email from Square. Tickets may also be purchased on the day of the show at the concession counter.
- If you’ve purchased advance tickets, when you arrive, please give your name at the concession counter to check in.
- Tickets are returnable by sending a request through the contact form located on our About Us page prior to showtime.
- When an event is sold out, we reserve the right to release open seats to customers on the waitlist. If you have a pre-purchased ticket and arrive late and there is no seat for you, your ticket will be refunded.
- All screenings are held in our indoor theater unless indicated otherwise in the event description above.
- Please respect your fellow movie-goers by remaining quiet and refraining from using your cell phone throughout the screening.

