Poison (1991)

The whole world
is dying of panicky fright.
Police!
Open up!
Police ma'am!
Hello?
Open up!
Come on, open up!
Hello?
Mrs. Olsen, are you there?
We'll have to force the door
if she refuses
or is unable to open up.
Nancy Olsen!
Come on, open up.
Oh, my God!
How awful!
Look!
It's him.
Catch him.
On 3 June 1985, at
approximately at 5:58 am,
Richard Beacon, a 7 year old,
Long Island boy,
shot and killed his father
in a heated family argument.
Felicia Beacon,
the boy's mother,
astonishingly claims
she then saw her son
take off in flight
from the patio balcony.
What really happened
the night of June 3?
Who was Richie Beacon
and where is he now?
POISON
In 44 I was sent
Fontenal to prison
on several counts of theft.
- Name?
- Broom.
- First?
- John.
- Age?
- 31.
Date of birth?
October 29, 1913.
- Orphan?
- Yes
Where?
First in ...
Prison was not new to me.
I'd lived in them all my life.
In submitting to prison life,
embracing it,
I could reject the world
that had rejected me.
... their sexual behavior,
which includes
relationships with men,
Is that correctt?
What?
The State obliges us to enquire
whether or not you engaged in ...
the practice of err...
Have you practiced ...?
Yes
Whatever.
That word there ...
Is it written as two words?
HOMOSEXUAL
We are gathered here today in the
shadow cast by the penal preserve of Baton
For the trusty and loyal inmates,
Harold von Roven and John Broom
who hereby pledge one and other
in the eyes of their comrades
and fellows in misery...
their loyalty and faith to
one and other's body and soul.
The ring on each man's finger
will prove to them
and to those in their company
that each is betrothed to the other
for life, and love
until death
separate them.
Place the rings on each finger,
pledge to truth and faith
above and beyond
God, the oppressor.
Ever since he was a child,
Thomas Graves had been
hungry for knowledge,
hungry to discover all of
the secrets of the universe.
Science,
man's sacred quest for truth,
was his first and only love.
Years of hard work and research
led him to the mysteries
of the sex drive.
And its potential for
the betterment of mankind.
At the age of 32
Dr. Thomas Graves was called upon
to present his theories
to experts in his field.
And thus, as I have demonstrated,
I have determined that once extracted,
the application of the hormonal
equivalent of the sexual instinct
to practical neurology,
will not only provoke
a dramatic reassessment
of geriatric research
but will end paralysis
as we know it today.
Thank you.
This is ridiculous!
I ask you, are we to take
this charade seriously?
I demand that this man be re-examined
on grounds of medical incompetence.
I agree!
That's it!
That's it!
Putrefactic condensation is sustained,
allowing molecular coagulation
by producing
biomagnetic gas.
I did it.
I did it!
Dr. Graves!
Yes, I'm Dr. Graves.
And I've just captured
the sex drive.
Why, that's marvellous!
It means that the molecular
coagulation theory holds true.
"Molecular Coagulation?
How do you know that?
Who are you?
- I'm Dr. Olsen.
- Who?
Dr. Olsen.
Nancy Olsen.
From Boston.
Dr. Strick recommended
me to you
I, I didn't expect a woman.
I didn't expect you to.
I've been following
your work for years, doctor.
Ever since evaluations of
molecular sustenstions of
hormonal conductivity appeared
in the Science Journal at M.I.T.
Your discovery of white cellular
clotting predominance in neurasthenia
completely changed my understanding
of conditional bioflavonoid
neuropathology.
I wrote my doctoral thesis on your
molecular coagulation theory
and now
I am hormonal specialist.
I've come with hopes
of assisting you.
- Well .. How do you do?
- Very well, doctor, thank you.
And now I really should leave
you to report your success.
Feel free to contact me
call me when you need me.
And congratulations, doctor.
You're making medical history.
The quiet residential community
of Glenville was stunned
to learn of the strange death
Fred Beacon.
It gave everybody the creeps.
All the neighbors were afraid
to come out of their door.
It was absolutely
the most dreadful thing ...
I have experienced
in my entire lifetime.
It was terrible.
Do you know?
I heard every shot.
I heard every
single shot.
You think you know people
but you really don't, know them...
and you live next door to them.
Until something like this happens.
Richie Beacon's disappearance
provoked one of the toughest
Missing Persons' investigations
in Long Island's history.
... It lasted at least a year.
His face is still
on milk cartons.
What did they find?
Nothing.
Felicia Beacon became the center
Glenville controversy
following her extraordinary account
of her son's disappearance.
I guess I just didn't ...
I definitely didn't
know what he was.
I mean ... I punished him, and his
father hit him, just like any kid.
But I definitely didn't realize.
Realize what?
That he was a gift from God.
By the time I was 16 years old,
I was notorious as a kid
with a terrific
knack for theft.
Foster homes would
no longer take me
and I was sent to the boys
reformatory at Baton.
There, in the counterfeit world
of men among men,
I foundmy true family.
At Baton I was astounded
by the discovery that
each man had a man
for his own.
And that the world of force
and manly beauty
loved in that way,
within itself
from link to link.
It was from then on,
when they merged in shadow
that each group
offered me a puzzle.
The stiff, silent males
possessed the violence of love
and my life's study,
would be to find it.
16 years had passed
when the maximum security
prison at Fontenal
brought me face to face
with my deliverance:
Jack Bolton
Age 28
175 pounds,
75 inches
formerly, a captive at Baton.
Come on, pussy.
You know what?
You make me wanna puke.
Want to suck it, bitch?
You want to suck it,
you want to crawl for it ...
Yes you do ...
Is it Jack Bolton?
Cannon!
Here?
Since today.
John, a friend of mine, man.
Jack Bolton
Johnny Broom.
- Baton?
- Yes
I knew.
You swallow it by the mouthful,
Don't you, birdy?
Jissom by the jug, right??
You want it real bad,
don't you, punk?
Don't you, slug?
Who's a pretty boy?
Hey you!
Shine.
Annoying Mr. Ass?
Not me, chief.
That's a good boy,
that's a smart little fag.
Think fast, faggot.
You want it real bad, doncha?
Doncha?
You want me to shoot it up
your hole? Is that it, huh?
Go on, marry him.
You know you love him.
What? Me, marry him?
Richie was
a complicated boy.
On the one hand, very intelligent.
But at the same time ...
withdrawn.
It was really strange though
the amount of animosity
that he would induce
in the other children
out of nowhere.
Like, there was this kid called Brad.
He started hitting him
because of what he believed
Said was really a prince
and his dad was a king.
The weird thing was that Richie
didn't fight back.
He'd just sit there
until the teacher came.
And he was all bloody.
He was a perfect child.
A perfect baby.
Very independent.
Very smart.
Never fussed.
He always kept himself busy
reading stories and coloring.
He was always doing these ...
private things.
Private games.
- Thanks a lot.
- Forget it.
I got it
from Baton.
It's loyalty.
- To the shithole?
- Maybe.
Better than this.
No way.
They're straight with you here.
You know what's what.
Don't be too sure.
Hey, you got any rolls?
That's alright, man.
Forget it, okay?
Baton.
Ok.
I'll see you later.
Bolton's re-emergencence in my life
contradicted any memory
I had of him as a child.
At Baton he was
solemn and small.
Even I picked on him.
Stay out of my way, Bolton.
You hear me?
Something about my memory
of Bolton disturbed me
but I could not put my finger
on just what it was.
All night long
I built an imaginary life
of which he was the center,
and I always gave that life,
which was begun over and over
and transformed a dozen times,
a violent end.
- Hello?
- Dr Graves?
This is Dr. Olsen,
Nancy Olsen.
I've been trying to reach you
for quite some time now.
Are you ...?
Is everything okay?
Yes, I'm fine.
Good, I'm relieved to hear that.
I did not know what happened.
I thought that maybe you'd decided
to turn down the internship.
That perhaps I had interrupted
you at a critical moment ...
It's just that after
your terrific success
I wanted to be the first
to congratulate you.
Hello?
Hello, Dr. Graves?
Hello?
Dr. Graves?
This is Dr. Olsen.
Dr Graves, I know
you're in there.
Dr. Graves!
What happened to your face?
Do I ... look lascivious?
Like the pitiful,
decrepit result
some hideous indulgence?
Huh?
Well, ... take a good look,
Miss, Dr. Olsen.
Because that's exactly
what I am.
Dr. Graves.
Please,
call me Tom.
Tom,
What happened?
I ...
accidentally ...
ingested ...
The serum?
- Yes
- Oh God.
All of it?
What are you going to do?
There is nothing
I can do.
You know as well as I
that the hormonal system
is self-perpetuating.
The biomagnetic field
is irreversible.
I'm a monster.
You're not.
Then look at me.
Now, kiss me.
Sorry. I'm a little
worse for wear.
No.
I have the greatest respect
for you, doctor .
And of all people
this could happen to,
Why did it have to be you?
I just don't know.
The fact is ...
It doesn't disgust me
in the slightest.
On the contrary.
It breaks my heart.
Don't.
He was a meek soul.
People pick on meek souls.
It's something in human nature,
Something very sad
about human nature.
We have to pick on those
who are weaker than us.
And that is exactly
what happened on Park Street.
In the two and half years
Richie attended
Park Street elementary school
he allegedly made 47 visits
to the nurse's office
His mother was called
as many as 25 times,
and Richie met with the
principal at least 10.
12 classmates were suspended
and 3 expelled.
I remember that he was involved
in fights in the cafeteria
and even in the playground.
For a little kid ...
he was noticeable.
Some people felt sorry for him,
but most of them wanted to hit him.
It was weird, because he was
just the kind of person that
you want to see get creamed.
Once, I was right in the middle
of giving him an injection
and he called me fatso.
I mean, ... I could have
hurt him or something.
I just think he was evil.
Often it was a bloody nose,
it was a sprained ankle...
if it was not skinned knees, then it was
somebody put something in his milk ...
Once, and unfortunately, I discovered
him and a slightly older boy,
Gregory Lazar,
in the equipment room.
And Gregory had the poor kid
over his knees
and was apparently,
really giving it to him.
Everything the principal said
about it was completely a lie.
I didn't attack
Richie Beacon at all.
He just kept bugging me,
kept bothering me, every second.
He made me.
I got this when I was a kid.
This guard was always
calling me pretty boy, right?.
Pretty Boy.
So I caught him.
This is a tough one, look.
And that was tough, huh?.
You're a kid and you get something
like that. You think you're gonna die.
This one here ...
I was crashing in church... Now, you
should never crash in the churches.
This is bad luck.
I told Nick.
This one here is...
almost invisible,
but it's right there.
It's pink, do you see?
Yes
I got it in La Salle.
Latvian needle, I think.
Anyway...
There's nothing wrong with
being out in the world, Tom.
I don't know why
you so nervous about it.
People come down with
all kinds of conditionss.
This is just one of them.
Hello!
Just ignore them.
Don't!
Why?
I can't.
Well, I can't do this.
Not now.
But Tom,
I'm in love with you.
Look at me, Nancy.
Think about what you're saying
and look at me.
Tom!
Tom!
Richie was extremely gifted.
Imaginative.
Always telling elaborate stories.
He was a chronic liar.
And often involve
other classmates
in these stories of his.
And they'd get very angry.
He liked
controlling people.
And watching them
boil over.
One day I was in the garden
I think it was Sunday.
And suddenly I saw something come
running from the Beacon's house.
I thought it was a deer,
a little deer.
But when it came towards me,
I saw it was a little boy,
five or six years,
He was naked.
And he came running, closer...
and he was exhibiting
himself right in front of me.
As he got closer to me,
he squatted down and ...
he had a crap
right in front of me.
He got up, turned
around and he ran away,
like a wild animal.
I didn't know what to do...
So I went home
and closed the door.
I just was so shocked.
Every time I do a job,
I get stiff.
Every single time.
Because you were doing with ...
What's his name?
Nick,
that goof of yours.
What?
I do my jobs solo, man,
I can't do them with someone else.
That's not what I heard.
What have you heard?
- Nothing.
- What?
Nothing.
What?
Just that you and Nick...
you were partners.
Who said that?
Don't remember.
Who?
Look, I don't remember.
What do you think you're looking at?
You fucking queer!
Fucking Scum!
Do you think Nick gives a shit
what people think?
You know what Nick would do?
Well, he's busted into a tribe,
He'd fucking piss all over it.
But first he'd do it up,
he'd drink or eat,
he'd take a bath ...
screw me ...
I tell you, that guy ... Once we
were in a bank in New Orleans ...
We?
What?
Listen, don't be fucking smart with me,
man Broom, don't start, I'm serious.
I mean,
don't start with me.
- Bolton.
- So what?
So, we did shit together,
we got busted. Big fucking deal!
And who the fuck are you, anyway?
You know, you walk around
trying to act like a big shot,
Who are you kidding?
You are this fucking
fruit in this joint.
Hey!
It was only a matter of time
before Bolton would be accepted
by the big shots.
Go ahead.
And nothing could threaten
our friendship more.
I could tell Rass,
the group's kingpin,
had an eye for him
from day one.
I still could not
take lightly the idea
that people made love without me.
Yes
Darling.
Yes
Tom!
Tom!
How did you find me?
Never mind.
Come home.
- We belong together.
- How can you say that?
- I know what I'm saying.
- I don't belong with anyone.
You're wrong.
The search is still on for the
leper murderer of
Priscilla Monroe
and possibly
four other victims
yet to be identified.
Already the venomous cancer
has spread to hundreds of men,
Women and Children
and cases of sexual violence
are also on the rise. Be on the
lookout for a dark haired man,
with intense eyes
and a badly infected mouth.
You don't know anyhing
about that, do you, Tom?
Tom.
It's you, isn't it?
You're the leper they've all been
talking about... Shh!
Why didn't you tell me
that you were contagious?
When were you going to tell me?
I was scared that I
would frighten you away.
You are all
I have left, Nancy.
How can you be so sure
that I am safe with you?
Nancy, I love you.
Tom,
I have to think.
Tom, I need to be alone
time to think.
Nancy.
I'm sorry.
I'll call you.
Please.
Nancy Nancy.
In mid-November of 1984
Richie Beacon
was treated at
Cloyfield Medical Center
for injuries to the
thighs and lower back.
His parents claimed he'd been hurt
by the other kids at school,
but, frankly, I doubted it.
Why?
I felt they were being
purposely vague with me.
There were other strange
circumstances surrounding the case.
I found an infectious discharge,
it was genitally secreted.
Sharp yellow color.
Just stupid junk.
Like what?
Like, "You're the dad,
and you're all mad."
"And you know, the son."
I just did this thing,
or something.
It was just some stupid game.
What did he do?
He just totally forced me do it.
It was like he got into
trouble or something ...
If I didn't do it,
he just sat there and laughed.
And I'd get so mad
I'd finally do what he said.
Totally spank him.
Just to make him shut up.
It is very hard, but ...
Mrs. Beacon's account of
Richie's disappearance,
you know. him killing his father
and then flying away,
came directly from
one of his stories.
Nancy.
Nancy?
Nancy.
Nancy!
Nancy.
Oh God.
No.
Tom.
Atmospheric toxins
changed the magnetic field.
That's caused it
to spread.
Don't blame yourself.
Nancy.
I love you, Nancy.
Now it begins.
Miss Olsen!
You'd better open up in there.
Come on!
Shit, I gotta go.
Go ahead.
Want a drag, pal?
You're a slut,
You know that?
Your little man
can eat my fucking prick.
What the fuck are
you talking about?
Look, John,
get lost, will you?
If they see us together
they're gonna start bullshitting.
Why?
- I do not know, but get lost.
- Why?
They think you are ...
Look, I tried to tell 'em
you're OK, but ...
Come on!
You're my man.
Bolton's friendship
with Rass and the others
filled me with jealousy,
but instigated
a transformation.
I felt myself growing mean,
icy, stiff,glowing like
a sword blade.
Hey, you!
Hold it right there!
Come on let's go around.
I'll take.
Well I don't know what kind
of shouting they heard,
but yes,
we were fighting.
Fred was very stressed,
and I was busy.
Richie kept getting hurt.
It was a bad time in general.
Did your arguments have mostly
to do with Richie?
No, not at all.
Fred was angry with me.
He thought I wasn't spending
enough time with Richie
and he wanted to know
where I was. Every second.
A neighbor claims she saw him
ripping up your flower beds.
He was just angry.
Had fired our gardener,
a Spanish kid called Joseph.
He was just very angry with me
so he tore up my flowers.
I know that I was wrong,
but my child
was watching over me.
My son was an angel of judgement
and I had sinned against the Lord.
We are at 69 Gold Street,
residence of Dr. Thomas Graves,
the notorious leper, murderer
cause of countless deaths
in the Centerville area alone.
Local authorities
have the building surrounded
We are presently escorting all other
tenants out of the building,
since the area
is heavily contaminated.
A surveillance operation ...
I have no doubt that we will be
able to cease this
menace to the community,
and stop the spread
of this despicable contagion.
About week before the third
Richie had sprained
his wrist at school. He twisted it.
And a teacher who lives
near here drove him home.
It was about 1:15 or something
and I had no idea he would be
coming home when he did
so he walked in on me
with this kid,
Joseph,
the gardener.
Hey Broom, what's up?
What's wrong with you?
Alright, Dr. Thomas Graves,
It's Deputy Hansen of
Centerville County
I am required by law to tell you
that youare under arrest.
At this time we have you
completely surrounded,
and there is no
chance of escape.
I repeat, the apartment
is surrounded,
and you are ordered
to make yourself visible.
Dr. Thomas Graves,
you are under arrest.
Come to the window,
we have the house surrounded.
Why?
Open the window
and show yourself.
All I could remember thinking was:
"Oh my God, it's Richie."
But when I saw
his face,
It reminded me of this time,
years before
when Fred
was spanking Richie,
and I was watching,
and I swear he looked at me with
the exact same expression.
It was like some...
an oath
in some other language.
His face was so weird.
It made me feel ashamed.
Still,
Thank you ...
You needn't stop.
It's the same.
I've shot.
And I will
whenever I like.
Open your mouth.
Open it.
I told you to open
your fucking mouth.
Open it.
Keep that mouth open.
Science tells us there
always a reason why
a star falls
or a body is ill.
And religion does the same.
This is the story of
a man whose quest
into the darkness.
True or false?
Both.
There it is!
I'll tell you something:
Don't jump!
Wait.
Do you think I'm scum?
You think I'm dirt,
Don't you?
Well, I'll tell you something.
Every one of you down there
is exactly the same!
But you'll never know it.
You'll never know it.
Because you never will know
what pride is.
Because pride is the only thing
that lets you stand up to misery.
And this kind of misery!
But the kind of misery
of which is made
this stinking world.
Nothing, Doctor.
He's gone.
Doctor.
I can hear the angels
farting on the ceiling.
Bolton!
Three days later,
Rass took Bolton with him
on an escape attempt
from Fontenal.
Rass made it as far
as Orleans.
Bolton shot by
a prison guard.
After Fred heard
about everything
he bought this gun.
He just came home one day
and he went totally crazy with it.
- Tell me who else knows!
- Richie, go away!
Get out of here!
Shut the fuck up!
He carried around the house,
showing it to Richie.
So when he fell asleep
on the couch later
I put the gun away
in the drawer.
But at some point,
in the middle of the night
he got up
and started again.
He was smacking me around
and screaming his head off.
And of course,
it woke up Richie.
But Fred was like some crazy man,
and coming at me,
and he threw the lamp at me,
which knocked me down.
I just remember him coming at me.
around the throat
and me trying to hold his arms down
they were like steel.
Then I just thought:
This's it.
And then, all of a sudden
I heard an explosion,
like a bomb.
And then another.
And then Fred collapses
on the top of me.
I look up and I saw Richie
standing there with the gun.
I think he looked at me
and then somehow took off
towards the window.
I was pulling Fred
off of me
when I saw him there,
standing on the ledge.
I screamed,
I thought he was going to jump.
And all of a sudden, he did.
He just jumped off the
ledge and went up.
As if the wind had taken him,
'cos he was so light,
but it wasn't the wind,
he just took off.
It was so weird.
When I ran
and watched him
go up ...
He just flew up.
And I called to him
and he sort of tilted my way.
Before he...
kind of rolled out of sight.
My little boy.