brujavu Review of Poison for the Fairies

Poison for the Fairies (1986)

Artfully Told and Entirely Plausible

[7/10 · 17 September 2012]

There are many things I liked about this film... the main thing being that everything that happens in the film is entirely plausible. To me, that is an essential ingredient for a good suspense film (I would not classify this as a horror film, which to me, implies a lot of slash and gore... although the film does open up with such a scene, it is incongruous with the rest of the story). Another thing that I really liked was the way that we never see the faces of the adults, and in fact, rarely see their heads. Most shots of the adults are of their feet and legs, sometimes their torsos. In this way, it's a bit reminiscent of watching a Charlie Brown cartoon. This technique allows us to focus on the children, and shows the adults as being peripheral to everything that is going on in the little girls' room. I think the main theme is bullying, and it shows how easily a relationship like this can be established, not just among children. I never had the idea that Flavia actually liked Veronica, but once she was convinced of Veroncia's powers (and again, this happened in a very convincing and plausible way), she was terrified of her and also felt beholden to her. I love the way that the offhand remarks that the adults make in response to the children's questions about witches, the devil, etc. form a part of the girls' psychological landscape, influencing their future actions. It is just such a chance conversation with her father that moves Flavia to take her final decisive action when she is threatened with separation from her beloved pet. A very atmospheric piece, with a lot of the action happening in broad daylight in very beautiful settings. My husband wandered into the room several times while I was watching it without ever suspecting that I was watching a "horror" film.