I Saw it on Shudder: Poison for the Fairies

Subtle horror for the manipulative witch!

“I Saw it on Shudder” is a series where I write about my takes on random movies I’m watching on Shudder in informal essay form. Spoilers galore. For entertainment purposes only - not fully hashed out film criticism!

Some people put on The Great British Bake-off as background noise when they are unwinding for the day, but for me, it’s Shudder TV, the 24/7 horror streaming channel. For months, I played Poison for the Fairies, an 80s Mexican horror movie about two little girls, while I did my nightly cleaning routine, and even while scrolling my phone.

One night, I finally noticed it.

They aren’t showing the adults’ faces, I noticed while staring at the screen absentmindedly. Why? It was then I decided to give the movie my full attention, and I’m so glad I did.

When you look up the synopsis for Poison for the Fairies, it says:

“A lonely young girl falls under the spell of a domineering classmate who has aspirations of becoming a witch.”

In the film, we follow two young girls, Verónica and Flavia. Verónica lives with her grandmother, who is an invalid, and her nurse who raises her. It’s clear she has had some traumatic experiences by the way her nurse candidly lets her discuss and ask about the death of her parents. She is read fairy tales, and raised with a respect for her religion. Flavia, on the other hand, comes from an ultra wealthy family, who’s parents dote on her with lavish gifts and vacations, while also tightly controlling the way she plays, thinks, and spends her free time. They are also staunch atheists, with her father explaining the nature of witches to Flavia as a movement where people bought into mass hysteria and burned innocent women (excellent foreshadowing for later).

It’s pretty clear to the audience that Verónica is jealous and resentful of Flavia’s wealth and parental relationships. So she does what any girl would do: using inspiration from all those fairy tales, she decides to convince Flavia that she is a witch with powerful supernatural allies in order to manipulate her into being her friend and doing what she wants. Aspiring to become a witch? No, Verónica is a witch!
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The marketing and trailer for the film would like us to believe in a reality where Verónica is an actual witch (or trying to become one). However, the movie unfolds more like an elaborate children’s game. The girls, for the most part, seem to enjoy each other’s company and are having fun playing this game where Verónica is a powerful witch that needs to eliminate the only enemies that could destroy her; the fairies. We rarely see any adult faces, which further makes the entire movie feel more like a child’s memory or personal experience. Think back on your own childhood memories: are they clear and logical, or are the only things seemingly clear the instances that evoked strong emotional responses? The only time we see adult faces is in death, or the grandmother’s, when Verónica tricks Flavia into thinking her grandmother is her true witch form and comes across terrifying. There’s a lot to unpack in that moment alone, but granny’s scary face burned into Flavia’s mind with an inappropriate context is exactly why memory is so faulty.

The lines are blurred into cruelty when Flavia thinks she is responsible for her piano teacher’s unpreventable death, and the taking of her dog Hippie. Again, we see her teacher’s face only after death; the moment Flavia finds her dead teacher, and the open casket funeral. Outside of that, Verónica encourages Flavia to play messy, be adventurous and daring, and to explore, despite her parents’ protests against girls doing such things. Flavia looks like she actually enjoys being with Verónica a lot of the time. She’s laughing, giggling, and expressing excitement every time she gathers an item for the poison potion. Ultimately, Verónica’s threat to take Flavia’s dog was what did her in, and also what made Flavia fully convinced Verónica was a witch (relatable), to the point of thinking her shadow showed her true [ugly and old] form, which bears a striking resemblance to the grandmother.

This brings me to back to Flavia’s father’s comment about witch hunts in the past. He attributed them to people not having critical thinking skills due to religious believes and fairy tales. So we get to see this narrative flipped. Flavia wasn’t raised with religion or fairy tales like Verónica, so could we make the argument that it made her an easy target to be manipulated? Does the movie make criticisms against leaving behind old world traditions? Does it criticize lack of childhood imaginative play? Or maybe it’s just as simple as Flavia’s parents didn’t foster an environment she felt comfortable telling them about scary things that they’d write off as silly, thus making her easy pickings for being exploited. Verónica might have been a creative bully, but Flavia lacked any skills to decipher what was fantasy and what was real. This highlights the importance of teaching story and storytelling. Fairy tales aren’t just silly, they’re life saving!

Unfortunately for Verónica, she was able to be so convincing that it got her killed in real life. Flavia, after lying to her parents, giving up her precious doll that her mother wouldn’t even allow her to cuddle at night, and finally, after handing over her dog, snaps. The film ends with Flavia sneaking out of the barn with her dog after starting a fire. She stands outside, while Verónica begs for help inside, holding Hippie and gazing into the flames. A smile slowly crawls across her face. Hippie is unbothered.
To Flavia, the witch has been vanquished before she could kill the fairies, who are the only ones able to keep ultimate evil from the world at bay. She has slain the monster. She is free from the clutches of an evil coven of witches! To me (and I would hope others watching!), I stared in horror as an innocent, albeit bratty, bossy child was murdered. Flavia ends up the actual villain, because she’s the one that does an actual bad thing in the film. She’s a witch burner. She becomes the thing her dad warned about in the beginning. From our [adult] point of view, Flavia could have simply said no to all of Verónica’s requests. We know there’s no one coming to steal eyeballs, curse, or otherwise maim her if she simply says no. After all, Flavia, from a socioeconomic stance, has all the power. But, does Flavia know that? (She does not)
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I was surprised at how much I found myself liking this film, especially after writing it off as background noise initially. I genuinely enjoy expressions of memory on film, and this is a great one that also comments on storytelling, fantasy, friendship, and class tensions. If you ever get a chance to see it, I highly recommend it!