La posesión de Verónica

Deriving the screams from its sinister atmosphere instead of relying on jump scares, Verónica is genuinely effective when it gets all the genre elements right and benefits greatly from its no-nonsense direction & sincere performances but it's unworthy of the "scariest ever" tag that was given to it by some easily frightened people.

I saw this movie was trending on social media and it's conveniently on Netflix. I thought, what the heck, I can spend a couple hours watching a horror movie. I along with many other horror fans know the pain of unoriginal horrors with jump scares and flashy CGI, that's basically half of Netflix's horror movie lineup.

Not only was I taken aback by the Sandra's performance as Veronica, but I enjoyed the whole cast. This was treading the line between low budget cult horror and big blockbuster movie. Some of the scenes were chilling and had a lasting effect during the movie and afterwards while I'm writing this review.

Without spoiling anything, they were very creative with the story, and some elements that supposedly happened back in 1991 are terrifying. The photographic evidence from the actual police report makes you realize this might be a realistic recreation.

If you're a horror fan, this is a great movie to watch. It's a fresh breath from the "cookie cutter" paranormal movies, while at the same time has some elements that can spook you. I don't get scared by too many movies, and while this one didn't scare me, it kept me entertained.

Since seeing the excellent and disturbing 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose' I compare all possession films to 'Emily Rose'. There have been some very good possession films since and there's been some really terrible films. 'Veronica' is one of the better films, thanks to Sandra Escacena's good and natural acting as 'Veronica'.

When three girls play with a Ouija board during an eclipse - believed to be the time when darkness triumphs over light - Veronica cuts her finger on a glass when it shatters, and her blood is therefore considered an offering, or sacrifice. Things start going wrong from there, trivial at first but more intense as the film progresses. The film features some good scares, and very good visuals.

So REC was really something special, but it was a collaboration between two directors. And I do have mad respect for the other one who had "Nameless" and "Darkness" already under his belt. So Paco here goes full horror with this and the end result is quite decent. It's not really anything new you get or that interesting (possession, demons and so forth).

But it does work overall. So while it may not change your world view or shake your film world, it is something to watch, if you are into horror movies. There are quite some neat jump scares and the story has the right mood overall. The acting is also decent enough, it builds as expected and there is nothing much that is wrong with it. Except for its predictability I guess. So by the numbers, but better than off the rails

Let me start off by saying I have certain difficulties with foreign films, having been raised on Hollywood standards and conventional cinematics. I consider this to be a personal flaw and the result of early age conditioning, which honestly should have been broken by now following masterpieces such as Ju On (Japanese) and Martyrs (French). Unfortunately, this flaw often makes me delay watching foreign Horror even when it's conveniently and immediately available on Netflix. Thank heavens I eventually get to it, or I would have missed on Veronica, which is in my opinion simply an excellent and fun film.

It is noteworthy to mention that virtually nothing about Veronica is innovative or original, save for certain aspects of the evil spirit's behavior and methods. From the painfully overdone story (teenagers using Ouija board, evil follows, haunting commences) to the portrayal of the haunting itself (poltergeist effects apparent in the house, mouth agape beyond what is physically possible for humans etc.) Veronica resembles any of the dozen plus ghost stories proceeding it in the past decade. And yet, something about the different atmosphere, the unique and almost idiosyncratic features of the spirit and the added value from witnessing the heartwarming relationship between the protagonist and her younger siblings simply makes Veronica a rewarding and fun viewing experience from start to finish. Acting is right on the spot even by young Iván Chavero making a very impressive debut, soundtrack and cinematography accompany the story and characters just as they should, and everything simply fits together perfectly.

The ending is slightly disappointing (as is the case with many Horror films), with a failed and completely unnecessary attempt at a plot twist (the film would have fine without it). This combined with the aforementioned lack of innovation makes me somewhat surprised and confused as to how much I honestly enjoyed this film. Like I said, everything simply comes together perfectly regardless to most of the features which are usually required to make a good Horror film great. All I can say is that I wholeheartedly recommend Veronica to any Horror fan, even if some of you might find it to be mediocre and average at best. I certainly haven't.