Is 'Verónica' Scary? New Netflix Horror Has Internet Screaming
Screaming at each other, at least.
Verónica, a new horror Spanish-language film released on Netflix on Monday has the horror community buzzing. Some have called Verónica, directed by Paco Plaza, the scariest movie of the year, while others have belittled such claims, claiming that it’s a pretty standard horror flick.
There’s definitely a reason that many have found the film so familiar, since it relies on a fairly well-known trope. The movie, based on a Madrid police report filed in 1991, is about a girl named Veronica who attempts to contact her deceased father through an Ouija board (inside her Catholic school, no less). Within the first 20 minutes, it’s clear that there’s going to be demonic possession and scary children involved. But Plaza adds an extra layer of mythology to the archetypal genre by invoking celestial happenings.
The seance that leads to Veronica’s unforntunate circumstances was conducted during a total solar eclipse. Prior to the Ouija shenanigans, Verónica’s teacher was lecturing her class about how ancient civilizations believed eclipses were the perfect opportunity for human sacrifices to appease the gods. The idea was that the sky mirrors the earth, so when the sky goes completely black, darkness rules over light. Talk about foreshadowing.
Critics have responded well to the movie. Verónica currently boasts the elusive 100 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes; however, only 12 reviews have been posted thus far, so it’s a pretty small sample size. But, lots of horror fans have taken to Twitter to express their thoughts on the film, and the reactions have been pretty polarized.
Lots of people found the film terrifying; some even claimed that they were forced to turn it off because it was just too scary.
On the other side, detractors said that Verónica wasn’t scary, and pretty much just a rehash of old Ouija board horror movies.
And some people couldn’t comment because they accidentally watched the wrong movie. (There are currently two Spanish language films titled “Verónica” on Netflix.)
Watch the trailer below, and decide for yourself.
