Review: Veronica

Paco Plaza - Veronica
Rating: 9.4/10
Streaming on Netflix

​Holy shit. That’s all I have to say to start this review. If the name of the director doesn’t look all too familiar to you, you might recognize the franchise he has helmed in the past: REC. Plaza is no stranger to horror and proves yet again that he is a master of getting in your head and scaring the living shit out of you. Between his intricate script and Pablo Rosso’s beautiful cinematography, you are in for what could be one of the best paranormal horror movies ever.

15 year old Veronica, played by the wonderful Sandra Escacena, is tasked with both managing her social life at catholic school and being a mother to her siblings, since their actual mother is works all day and night. You’re greeted with a gripping tale of teenage exploration and supernatural ideas that might sound generic on paper, but is amazingly executed on film.

I think what amazed me the most about this masterpiece is that it was more than just a horror movie--which doesn’t mean it isn’t filled to the brim with scares of all different types, but that  you also see this teenager struggle with the weight of the world and juggle all sorts of real-life hardships without losing her mind. You watch all of this psychological terror unfold over a simple botched seance, one she only participated in to get in touch with her deceased father. Of course, this is a horror movie, so that isn’t who she was contacting.

I went into this film on the strength of Plaza’s previous movies, and there was not a single moment where I wasn’t absolutely gripping the edge of my seat, even during the set-up portion of the film. There are scenes throughout that will make your skin crawl with nothing more than a well-framed shot or the movie’s diverse takes on foreshadowing. If there is one thing that stands out about this movie, it’s the fact that it’s really a tale of becoming what you are afraid of, and that sometimes you are your greatest fear.

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