Barrymore leaves E.T. cutie behind

WONDERED what has happened to Drew Barrymore, who played the cute little girl in E.T. ? After fighting a series of addictions to drug and alcohol, she is back with a vengeance, playing young vamps in low budget productions.

In Poison Ivy (1992, Guild Home Video, 89 minutes), Barrymore plays a teenager introduced to a wealthy family after she befriends school nerd Sara Gilbert.

Barrymore's young vamp routine kicks into overdrive the moment she decides to make the most of her relationship with Gilbert by seducing father Tom Skerritt and killing off Gilbert's long-suffering mother, Cheryl Ladd.

Barrymore's role is a far cry from her E.T. persona and there are few other actors or actresses who have taken such an extreme coming of age role.

Although she only has a small part in Sketch Artist (1993, Media, 89 minutes), it typifies the role Barrymore is playing. Here, she is a tough streetwise young girl who witnesses a murder.

Doppelganger (1992, ITC, 100 minutes) is her first venture into the horror genre. Barrymore plays a dual role: one of a sweet traumatised woman trying to recover from a horrifying past, and her evil, vampy doppelganger.

George Newbern plays the good-natured roommate determined to solve this ''is there really a doppleganger or is Barrymore a psychopathic killer?'' mystery horror.

Of the trio, Poison Ivy is the only film worth seeing. The others are poorly put together, produced on a shoestring budget and probably will not even rate as good '90s B-movies.

As for Barrymore, she has developed little as a thespian since E.T. - instead of simply looking cute all the time, the adult Barrymore is now cute with an attitude.