Veronica

In 1991 Madrid, Veronica and her younger siblings become entangled in fear after a school seance goes wrong. While their mother is away, the teen tries to keep the family calm as unnerving events begin to blur the line between their apartment and the unseen. When a chilling presence seems to target Veronica, suspicion and superstition spread through the building, turning ordinary rooms into traps. The story threads together the pressure of adolescence, household responsibility, and a growing sense that something malevolent has crossed from the other side. The tension never relies on cheap jump scares, instead it builds through the claustrophobic apartment and the quiet fear of a girl trying to protect her siblings.

Released in 2017, this Spanish horror is directed by Paco Plaza with a screenplay by Fernando Navarro, drawing on the 1991 Madrid case that inspired a teen and her siblings facing a malevolent force after a school seance.

Box office data are not widely reported, but Veronica found an audience beyond Spain through streaming and festival screenings, helping it become one of the more talked about Spanish genre films of its year.

Veronica sparked renewed interest in Spanish horror, highlighting intimate home settings over grand scares. Sandra Escacena's restrained performance drew praise, and the film's courtroom-like realism and the 1991 case from Madrid fed conversations about haunting folklore and the role of young women in supernatural tales.

Critics noted the film's relentless atmosphere, restrained performances, and sound design that amplifies quiet moments into dread. Thematically it centers on family responsibility under pressure, the vulnerability of adolescence, and how fear can escalate from rumor to a crisis inside a small apartment. Some reviewers pointed to pacing dips, but many praised its precise use of period detail and the way it balances personal stakes with a broader urban legend.