Image from 2017 film Veronica
I foolishly decided to check out Netflix's Spanish horror film earlier tonight after reading an article about the waves it's been making in the genre. Apparently this film not only has a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes but also has been called by many "the scariest ever!" After watching the film I am not only convinced that today's culture has no idea what scary means, I'm also more sure than ever that Rotten Tomatoes is BS.
It's so strange, for an internet culture that delights itself in bashing religion and the idea of deities it sure does scare easily when concerning horror films involving the Devil or demonic possession. Not only has this film been done a million times before, it does it so boringly that 20 minutes in I was ready for the film to be over. This film is about as scary as a cheese sandwich.
The premise is familiar, a teenage girl screws around with a spirit board and unleashes a demon that begins to terrorize her and her family. The story is based on an actual case file in which police responded to an emergency call and witnessed evidence of paranormal activity, while this is interesting the film is 99% speculation. The film has a few moments of interesting imagery but ultimately falls flat and left me bored.
Maybe I'm just desensitized to films about the occult but this film just wasn't scary at all, I didn't care about the characters at all and the plot isn't well written either. The only interesting character is the blind nun who is lightly sprinkled throughout the film and doesn't make any real contribution to the situation. I honestly found Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension to be a more entertaining film as bad as it was.
The only positive to take away from this film is the life-long lesson that everyone should abide by which is don't screw with the occult because you could end up like the real-life victims this schlock-fest was based off of. Do yourself a favor, skip this one and from now on ignore Rotten Tomatoes entirely. I give Veronica a 1.5 out of 5!