Veneno para las hadas

I'm not sure how I would categorize this film, and I also don't know who I would recommend it for. It's slightly twisted, but only so. Much of the movie feels more like a drama centering on the friendship of two little girls. Eventually, they pull the rug out from that, but these kids aren't as messed as, say, the girls in "Do Not Deliver Us From Evil." Closer to a Mexican 1960's "Ghost World." So it's largely tame, but then throws in some elements that would really bother some people. I thought it was well worth a watch, but not for everyone.

Veneno Para las Hadas is a very good horror/fantasy movie. It's very psychological too because Graciela (Ana Patricia Rojo) constantly submits her new friend Fabiola (Elsa Maria Gutierrez) through extortion forcing her to believe her that she is a witch and bad things could happen to Fabiola if she doesn't give her what she wants. Graciela is an orphan who listens to her grandmother's horrific fairy tales and her nanny's knowledge about withces and pacts with the devil. Graciela learns a lot about witchcraft and uses her knowledge against Fabiola, the daughter of a rich family, who is new in the all-girls private school where the two first meet. Contrary to Graciela, Fabiola is brought up in a very modern way being told that ghosts, demons and witches don't exist. Not even prayers are encouraged in Fabiola's family. Knowing this Graciela forces Fabiola into giving her the things she wants on basis of her being a witch and there is more convincement by Fabiola when a strange coincidence totally convinces Fabiola that her new friend is indeed a witch. Fabiola changes from skeptic of everything (including prayers) to a believer of ghosts and witches.

The movie is set apart by only the main character's points of view because we never see the faces of the adults, we only see them in unnatural ways or in very low light. Even though Graciela appears to be evil, she and Fabiola are still very young and childish in their behavior.

A great musical score by Carlos Jimenez Mabarak delivers a fairy tale-like atmosphere to the already beautiful cinematography by Lupe Garcia. Set in early 60's Mexico City and the Tlaxcala woods, Veneno para las adas is a fairy tale by itself. A very dark one anyways, like the ones the Nana tells Graciela before going to bed.

Mere words cannot describe this film. Each frame begs to be mounted as art. The cinematography of this gem should bring most Film fans to their knees. If someone described this film to me I probably wouldn't have expected much, but I would have been sorely mistaken. My undivided attention was earned from the very first screen and a free pass to every porn site on the net couldn't have dragged me away. Every once in a while we come across a film that affects us at a deeper level then we ever would had expected, and this epic will stay with me for the rest of my days on this earth.

Pure artistic brilliance that deserves a spot on every "best of" list in existence.

I'm a fan of horror flicks, and I must say that "Veneno para las hadas" is the scariest film in 80's Mexican cinema. Horror films were very popular at that time, films such as "Friday the 13th", "A Nightmare on Elm Street", "Halloween" -and their sequels- followed the same plot, you know a boogyman killing everyone around, except a virgin heroine. "Veneno para las hadas" has a flawless direction, some false scares, and very good acting; this movie is for those who believe in witchcraft, devil, and in good horror. That's it, go and rent it!!!

In the Dublin private school in Mexico, the wicked girl Verónica (Ana Patricia Rojo) is mocked by her classmates since she is a liar. She lives with her grandmother, since her parents died in a car crash, and her nanny raises her, telling fairytales to Verónica every day. When the wealthy and naive Flavia (Elsa María) joins the school, she befriends Verónica, who succeeds to convince her that she is a witch, forcing Flavia to help her and give gifts to her. When Flavia travels on vacation with her parents to the family farm, Verónica forces Flavia to invite her to travel with her. The envious Verónica forces Flavia to play witchcraft with her but something tragic happens.

"Veneno para las hadas", a.k.a. "Poison for the Fairies", is a psychological horror Mexican movie with a simple storyline. The result is a frightening movie, exploring Flavia's innocence. Carlos Enrique Taboada does not show any adult's face and the camera work is used on the level of Flavia and Verónica's eyes; therefore, the viewer watches the film as if they were children too in a great technique. The conclusion is also very dark. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Veneno para as Fadas" ("Poison for the Fairies")