Dir - Carlos Algara/Alejandro Martinez-Beltran
Overall: GOOD
Two Spanish speaking horrory films with the same name being released the same year and both being on Netflix at the same time, one can easily get confused. THIS Veronica was helmed by newcomers Carlos Algara and Alejandro Martinez-Beltran, (and written by Algara and Tomas Nepomuceno), and for first-time feature length movie makers, it is eloquently done. Plot wise, it has a familiar enough premise and ultimately overexplains things too much, but the directors overcome all this with the deliberate style and mood they choose to invoke. Presented in black and white with many slow motion shots and eerie cello noises on the soundtrack, it maintains a consistent, dire tone. The cinematography by Miguel Angel Gonzalez Avila should very much be acclaimed as even when nothing particularly interesting is going on, it is still a joy to look at. Like a good number of present-day, independent horror films, Veronica is minimalist what with one setting, a simple story, and basically only two actresses ever on screen. All of which works to its benefit.
Dir - Paco Plaza
Overall: MEH
The OTHER Veronica is by Paco Plaza, (half of the writer/director team that brought us the outstanding first two [REC] films), but the results are hardly positive. Horror fans are no strangers to preposterously overblown marketing hype as we have heard "scariest movie since The Exorcist" or "so terrifying that people are shitting their pants" nonsense whenever a movie gets a good publicity machine behind it. Veronica's viral reputation was the talk of the town and most of us who know the game will be skeptical to say the least, which is not the movie's fault. Every last detail and frame of it though could fit on a checklist of cliches. To the popcorn horror fan who questions nothing they are presented with and simply loves getting the exact same emotions screamed out of them the exact same way, this film is a reliable choice for something to watch on "horror movie night". Yet when you know each and every beat and every plot point reminds you of a thousand other such movies, it is rather easy to sleep at night afterwards and barely remember what you just watched. Neither should particularly be the case and both are unfortunately where this one is concerned.
Dir - David Bruckner
Overall: MEH
David Bruckner was responsible for two strong segments in the anthology films Southbound and the first V/H/S, and there likewise is much that is strong about his latest The Ritual. Commonly, (which is regretable in this and many other cases), horror movies stay on track for their first two acts and trip and fall down the stairs for the final third. Based off Adam Nevill's 2011 novel of the same name, it ultimately becomes an examination of overcoming guilt, but none of the character-driven story elements are nearly as compelling as the really spooky ones. Also, the characters themselves are different parts underdeveloped as they spend a liberal amount of time simply yelling the word "Fuck" at each other. Bruckner though sure can concoct some wonderfully unearthly moments in his films. In the simplest terms, the "payoff" here quickly unravels the exceptional amount of disturbing dread that came before it. We end up seeing too much and knowing too much by the end credits, which makes many of the movie's other minor flaws appear more prominent. Handled more ambiguously with less flat characters and perhaps some bolder chances taking with the narrative, this would have been closer to a triumph. As is, it is definitely not an all-out success, but there is enough potential here to recommend investigating.
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