The Young Poisoner’s Handbook – 1995 | 99 mins | Thriller, Black Comedy | Colour

Plot Synopsis

The Young Poisoner’s Handbook is loosely based on the true story of Graham Young, a criminally insane 14-year-old who in 1961 tried to poison his entire family. The film is a blackly comic, often satirical, toxic exploration by debut writer-director Benjamin Ross and is narrated throughout by the films young star; Hugh O’Conor. This uncomfortable delight brings to mind such films as Heavenly Creatures (1994), A Clockwork Orange (1971) and Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) but may border too far on the side of morbidity rather than English social satire for some peoples liking.

In the dreary 1960s London suburb of Neasden lives Graham Young (Hugh O’Conor), an introverted, studious teenager who is upstairs in his bedroom absorbed in his chemistry set projects. Below stairs are his dysfunctional family with whom Graham has become increasingly estranged and fantasies about poisoning. After his greatest experiment blows up, he seeks revenge on his detested stepmother Molly (Ruth Sheen), who has falsely accused him of hiding pornographic magazines. He poisons her chocolates and then his sister, Winnie (Charlotte Coleman), eye drops, partially blinding her. When Graham chances upon a comic book story about Nazi’s poisoned with Thallium – he decides this is the method for finally disposing of his long-suffering mother. She discovers Graham’s meticulously detailed notebook, in which he has documented his work over the previous months, but she can no longer speak, and dies unable to communicate the truth.

Next, Graham begins to poison his father, Fred (Roger Lloyd Pack); in the belief that a great prisoner must be caught in order to become universally renowned. The police arrest him when his father contracts the similar symptoms to his deceased mother. Convicted of murder, and attempted murder, Graham is sent to Harshhurst Hospital, diagnosed as an incurable psychopath. Dr. Ziegler (Anthony Sher), a pioneering psychiatrist hopes to rehabilitate young Graham by exploring his dreams. The misanthropic boy manages to convince the trusting doctors that he had been rehabilitated, cured of his obsession, and when released, Graham takes up employment as a storekeeper at a small photographic laboratory. Devoid of compassion, almost immediately he starts planning to poison the employees.