Is Netflix’s “Veronica” as Scary as It’s Hyped Up to Be?

A horror movie on Netflix quickly caught my attention this weekend: Veronica. Everywhere I looked, there it was. In my Google Alerts. Friends sharing links about it on Facebook. Friends tagging me in links about it on Facebook.

It was hard to ignore such enticing headlines as:

1. “Is this new Netflix film the scariest horror movie ever?” from NME

2. “Netflix horror movie ‘Veronica’ is scaring people into shutting it off halfway through watching” from Business Insider

3. This Netflix Horror Movie Has a 100% Rating on Rotten Tomatoes from HighSnobiety

4. “Netflix users are freaking out over this ‘true story’ horror flick” from the New York Post

What else is a horror movie loving girl to do but add it to her queue?

I started watching it Saturday night, but I fell asleep early on. That’s not a statement on the movie! I’d been struck by another case of insomnia the night before. I was operating on a little over three hours of sleep. My body was finally ready to get some shut eye. I let it.

But I did finish it the next day, because the little bit of Veronica that I’d seen? Good stuff.

So what did I think? I’ll get to that in a minute, but first let’s see what the movie is all about…

Veronica‘s Storyline

From Rotten Tomatoes:

Veronica has taken care of her little brother and sister since the death of their father. One day during a total eclipse of the sun, Veronica and two friends decide to make a Ouija board in order to invoke her father’s spirit. At the very peak of the eclipse, the glass shatters. Veronica enters a kind of trance and passes out, frightening her friends. Veronica recovers and goes home. But there, she starts to pick up on slight changes: objects that move, breathing in the dark… And she’s still unaware of the horrific outcome that awaits her.

Based on a True Story?

Every good story needs a twist. Veronica‘s backstory is that it’s supposedly based on a true story. Is it?

Here’s why some people may find this movie scarier than others: “Viewers are especially creeped out by the fact that they don’t know what’s real and what isn’t.”

According to the Sun’s “Who was Estefania Gutierrez Lazaro, how did she die and did she inspire the new Netflix horror movie Veronica?”, apparently the story is loosely based on the death of Estefania Gutierrez Lazaro. Here are truths from her death that the movie borrows from:

• Estefania did live in a Spanish town near Madrid.
• She did use a Ouija board at school with two friends to try and contact the boyfriend of one of the girls. He had died in a motorcycle accident. (Which the movie weaves into the plot.)
• Estefania started acting strangely at home after the Ouija board incident at school, suffering hallucinations and seizures.

The Sun reports Estefania died at home six months later, but Newsweek‘s “Is ‘Veronica,’ The New Netflix Horror Movie, a True Story?” delves a little further into the story and busts some myths, including:

• Estefania died in a hospital, not at home.
• Estefania had actually been dead a whole year before the family contacted police to come investigate a loud noise coming from an empty porch. That’s when “…the door of a ‘perfectly closed armoire’ opened ‘in a sudden and totally unnatural way,’ a crucified Jesus separated from his cross and a large, brown stain, attributed to drool. But though the facts of the case aren’t quite as spectacular as the events in Veronica, the police report contains evocative descriptions, calling it a ‘situation of mystery and rarity.’ That they were witnessed by three officers and the Chief Inspect of the National Police, Jose Pedro Negri…”

It’s that report that spawned all the hype.

So, How Scary Is Veronica?

Not that scary.

It’s creepy in a few spots, but did I ever feel so scared I didn’t think I could watch anymore? Sadly, no. (I don’t know what that says about me that I was hoping I’d find a movie so scary I couldn’t watch all of it, but there you have it.)

It’s super stylish and atmospheric. The acting is great. The kids are amazing. Especially the little boy who plays the adorable Antonito? Ugh. So stinking cute with his curly hair and big glasses.

Even if I hadn’t had my hopes up from all the hype, it’d still just be three out of five skulls in my book.

More Myths Busted

Others clearly don’t think Veronica is as scary as some of these headlines would have you believe either.

Some articles were reporting the movie had a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. As of this post, that rating is now 92% TomatoMeter/ 52% Audience.

IMDB users give it a 6.4.

Compared to 2007’s Rec, which got an IMDB user rating of 7.5, and a more consistent TomatoMeter rating of 88% and an Audience Score of 82% on Rotten Tomatoes. Veronica director, Paco Plaza, co-directed Rec.

Which proves the point Newsweek made in its article that Veronica is not the scariest horror movie ever made, nor the scariest Plaza has ever made. (Not that Rec is the scariest either though. That might make a fun post: Best Horror Movies Based on Ratings. Hmm…)

However, back to Veronica. If you haven’t already, watch for yourself and make up your own mind. Then report back and let me know your verdict.