“Satan…we are making a pact with you. Take Madame Rikard. She makes us suffer. We don’t want her. Take her far away and don’t ever let her return.” So much for Madame Rickard. Join your faithful Grue Crew – Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, Crystal Cleveland, and Jeff Mohr – as they experience Carlos Enrique Taboada’s award-winning, Mexican horror film, Poison for the Fairies (1986).
Decades of Horror 1980s
Episode 237 – Poison for the Fairies (1986)
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A 10-year-old girl convinces a lonely classmate that she is a witch, forcing the child to become her assistant. Though their games are initially rather naive, they gradually take a nasty and violent turn.
- Writer/Director: Carlos Enrique Taboada
- Music by: Carlos Jiménez Mabarak
- Cinematography by: Lupe García (as Guadalupe García)
- Editing by: Carlos Savage
- Production Design by: Fernando Ramírez Romero (as Fernando Ramírez)
- Set Decoration by: Enrique Ramírez
- Costume Design by: Clementina Esquivel
- Special Effects by: J. Guadalupe Aguilar
- Selected Cast:
- Ana Patricia Rojo as Verónica
- Elsa María Gutiérrez as Flavia (as Elsa María)
- Leonor Llausás as La Bruja (as Leonor Llauzas)
- Carmen Stein as Nana (as Carmela Stein)
- María Santander as Miss Aragón
- Ernesto Schwartz as Tono
- Rocío Lazcano as Senora Ellia
- Blanca Lidia Muñoz as Madame Rickard (as Blanca Lydia Muñoz)
- Sergio Bustamante as Flavia’s Father (voice)
- Lilia Aragón as Flavia’s Mother (voice)
- Hilda Pérez Carbajal as Madame Rickard (voice)
- Marcela Páez as Grandmother (voice)
- Araceli de León as Nana (voice)
Are you ready to explore a little-known (at least, State-side) Mexican, horror film from director Carlos Enrique Taboada? If so, prepare yourself for the 80s Grue-Crew review of Poison for the Fairies. Embedded in a world of folk tales and witchcraft and nominated for ten Ariel Awards (Mexico’s version of the Oscars) and winner of five ( including best picture, writer, and director), this film is a slow burn with interesting directorial choices, equally interesting cinematography, and a disturbing (or satisfying?) conclusion.
At the time of this writing, Poison for the Fairies is available to stream from Shudder and AMC+. The film is also available on physical media as a Blu-ray in the 3-film collection, “Mexican Gothic: The Films of Carlos Enrique Taboada,” from Vinegar Syndrome. In addition to Poison for the Fairies, the collection includes Rapiña (1975) and Darker Than Night (1975), both of which can also be streamed from Shudder.
If you’d like to hear more about the films of Carlos Enrique Taboada, check out these two episodes of Decades of Horror: The Classic Era:
- EL LIBRO DE PIEDRA (1969, THE BOOK OF STONE) – Episode 127
- EVEN THE WIND IS AFRAID (1968, Hasta el viento tiene miedo) – Episode 148
Every two weeks, Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1980s podcast will cover another horror film from the 1980s. The next episode’s film, chosen by Bill, will be The Nest (1987), directed by Terence H. Winkless and starring Robert Lansing, Lisa Langlois, and 2,000 cockroaches. How can you miss that one?
Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans – so leave them a message or comment on the Gruesome Magazine Youtube channel, on the Gruesome Magazine website, or email the Decades of Horror 1980s podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com.
Jeff has written for Horrornews.net and SQ Horror Magazine. He currently writes for Gruesome Magazine and is a co-host of the Decades of Horror podcasts - The Classic Era, 1970s, and 1980s - and the Gruesome Magazine Podcast.
