← Back to Reviews
 

Poison for the Fairies




Poison for the Fairies (1984)
Veneno para las hadas (original title)
Director: Carlos Enrique Taboada
Writers: Carlos Enrique Taboada (story), Carlos Enrique Taboada (screenplay)
Cast: Ana Patricia Rojo, Elsa María Gutiérrez, Leonor Llausás
Genre: Fantasy, Horror
Language: Spanish


Poison for the Fairies
a psychological suspense film that worked for me. I liked it. It was simple and effective story telling, which made it seem a personal story. I liked that the story was told from the girl's viewpoint and that adults are almost never shown, unless it's their hands or legs. The only time we see an adult's face is in a frightening (to the girls) extreme close up of an adult, when one of the adults surprises them. Even the cinematography (the camera height and angle) is at their level, so that we get a personal tale from their POV, which then matches the style of the story line.

I thought both actresses did a good job and mostly they kept it low keyed which made the film seem realer and more plausible. I liked the story elements how the blonde girl Veronica, comes from a home where her parents both died when she was young, she's raised by the house keeper who's superstitious and the girl latches unto that make believe world of witches. Meanwhile the rich girl with dark hair, Flavia doesn't pray as her mom tells her she's not scared like other little girls so doesn't need to pray. Then as the story proceeds it builds on those differences, until the pay off at the end.

I loved the outdoor scenery and sets. The houses were really dressed nicely, with lots of detail. And the old ruins of the church and the lake setting, wow...I want to visit there!