This Netflix Movie is So Scary, Most Viewers Can’t Finish It
Paco Plaza is one of this generation’s most underrated horror filmmakers. There’s the REC franchise, of course, including Plaza’s solo franchise outing with the criminally underrated REC 3: Genesis, but Plaza’s horror imprint extends beyond the walking dead. Sister Death, his latest, is currently available to stream on Netflix, and it’s a lot better than its lack of marketing fanfare would suggest. While 2021’s The Grandmother is only available to rent, I’d recommend seeking it out, too.
One of Paco Plaza’s greatest successes, however, came in 2017 with the release of the Netflix film Veronica. I remember watching it the night it was released and being absolutely terrified. While loosely adapted from an allegedly true story (really, really loosely, I should note), it was Plaza’s total command of the material and earnest approach that impressed me most. Veronica is not only gorgeous but it’s also impeccably staged, with Plaza refining the kind of possessive horror techniques that have been around since the days of Pazuzu.
Per Netflix: In 1991 Madrid, after holding a séance at school, a teen girl minding her younger siblings at home suspects an evil force has entered their apartment.
Veronica boasts greater street cred than most. At the time of its release in 2017, it was one of the scariest movies streaming on Netflix, if not the scariest movie on the platform. Shortly after its premiere, Netflix announced via internal data that audiences found the film so scary, they couldn’t even finish it.
Opening in media res with a frantic phone call, Veronica then steps back, outlining the events that led to a terrible tragedy. All the horror tropes are there, including nuns, ominous crosses, and a séance during a solar eclipse. Note to self: no contacting the dead during an eclipse. From there, Plaza’s Veronica is full-throttle terrifying. So much so, that viewers report being too terrified to see it through to the end (even though it sort of starts at the end).
Netflix has been on a roll recently, and a lot of its success can be traced back to Veronica. Titles like Grave Torture and Incantation, for instance, spotlight how Netflix is at its best when it’s acquiring international horror movies and making them available to audiences who might otherwise miss out.
If you’re a fan of either—or if Veronica scared the willies out of you—I want to know about it. Check-in with me on Twitter @Chadiscollins, and remember: under no circumstances should you hold a séance during an eclipse!
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