Netflix horror movie 'based on a true story' is so terrifying viewers are struggling to even finish it

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By Nasima Khatun

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One of Netflix's horror movies is gaining traction on the streaming platform - and let's just say this one is not for the faint-hearted.

Based on a true story, Veronica follows a teenage girl from Madrid who finds herself besieged by an evil supernatural force after she messes around with an Ouija board with two of her classmates.

Watch the trailer below:


Despite originally being released in 2017, the movie has gained a resurgence of fans after a handful of people discovered it on Netflix and later took to X (formerly Twitter) to talk about their experiences while watching it.

And spoiler alert: They were left terrified.

Credit: Europa Press/Europa Press/Getty

"Holy s***. veronica on Netflix is so godamn f****** good I actually feel like I'm about to vomit from emotion," one person wrote on X, while another added: "Ok, I'm watching #Veronica on my own. I've nearly had to turn it off twice... I'm only halfway through."

A third even added it to their list of best Spanish horror flicks.

And this user commented: "Veronica on Netflix was based on a true story and if that doesn’t freak you out a little you may need Jesus."

And while the movie visuals are pretty horrifying - I literally hid behind my hands when she was being possessed - the scariest part of Veronica is the fact that it's based on a true story, with the film inspired by the events surrounding the death of Spanish teenager Estefanía Gutiérrez Lázaro in 1991.

Estefanía was messing about with an Ouija board in the school basement with her friends, but while the girls were stopped by their teacher, the teenager started suffering from mysterious seizures as well as hallucinations in the following weeks.

Later on, Estefanía's body would be discovered in her room and police were never able to confirm the cause of her death.

Spooky right?

Credit: Juan Naharro Gimenez/WireImage/Getty

While the movie seems to have gotten a generally good reaction from viewers, critics were more harsh when it came to their reviews, with many branding it "slow."

Dennis Harvey from Variety branded its content "not original enough," adding: "...The care that goes into Veronica’s assembly is still ultimately let down a bit by its content: This movie just takes too long getting somewhere that isn’t different enough from umpteen other recent 'haunted family' chillers in the Conjuring mode."

Johnathan Holland from The Hollywood Reporter also agreed, noting that some of the characters did not feel like they really grasped their role.

"[Ana] Torrent is a letdown. In the only major adult role, she feels miscast, and her relationship with the kids is disappointingly one-dimensional and lacking in the tenderness which would have brought a more human touch."

Holland continued with his criticism: "Another negative is that Veronica is lacking in subtlety and truth — those little details of psychological characterization that make a film not only realistic, but shudderingly real.

"This is mainly down to Plaza’s wish to drive everything through at breakneck speed and his boyish enthusiasm for jump scares — while the viewer never gets to see how Veronica herself might be feeling about what is happening to her, which keeps her a little too remote," he added.

Either way, I'd suggest you don't watch this one too late at night...

Featured Image Credit: Netflix/Sony Pictures Releasing International

Netflix horror movie 'based on a true story' is so terrifying viewers are struggling to even finish it

vt-author-image

By Nasima Khatun

Article saved!Article saved!

One of Netflix's horror movies is gaining traction on the streaming platform - and let's just say this one is not for the faint-hearted.

Based on a true story, Veronica follows a teenage girl from Madrid who finds herself besieged by an evil supernatural force after she messes around with an Ouija board with two of her classmates.

Watch the trailer below:


Despite originally being released in 2017, the movie has gained a resurgence of fans after a handful of people discovered it on Netflix and later took to X (formerly Twitter) to talk about their experiences while watching it.

And spoiler alert: They were left terrified.

Credit: Europa Press/Europa Press/Getty

"Holy s***. veronica on Netflix is so godamn f****** good I actually feel like I'm about to vomit from emotion," one person wrote on X, while another added: "Ok, I'm watching #Veronica on my own. I've nearly had to turn it off twice... I'm only halfway through."

A third even added it to their list of best Spanish horror flicks.

And this user commented: "Veronica on Netflix was based on a true story and if that doesn’t freak you out a little you may need Jesus."

And while the movie visuals are pretty horrifying - I literally hid behind my hands when she was being possessed - the scariest part of Veronica is the fact that it's based on a true story, with the film inspired by the events surrounding the death of Spanish teenager Estefanía Gutiérrez Lázaro in 1991.

Estefanía was messing about with an Ouija board in the school basement with her friends, but while the girls were stopped by their teacher, the teenager started suffering from mysterious seizures as well as hallucinations in the following weeks.

Later on, Estefanía's body would be discovered in her room and police were never able to confirm the cause of her death.

Spooky right?

Credit: Juan Naharro Gimenez/WireImage/Getty

While the movie seems to have gotten a generally good reaction from viewers, critics were more harsh when it came to their reviews, with many branding it "slow."

Dennis Harvey from Variety branded its content "not original enough," adding: "...The care that goes into Veronica’s assembly is still ultimately let down a bit by its content: This movie just takes too long getting somewhere that isn’t different enough from umpteen other recent 'haunted family' chillers in the Conjuring mode."

Johnathan Holland from The Hollywood Reporter also agreed, noting that some of the characters did not feel like they really grasped their role.

"[Ana] Torrent is a letdown. In the only major adult role, she feels miscast, and her relationship with the kids is disappointingly one-dimensional and lacking in the tenderness which would have brought a more human touch."

Holland continued with his criticism: "Another negative is that Veronica is lacking in subtlety and truth — those little details of psychological characterization that make a film not only realistic, but shudderingly real.

"This is mainly down to Plaza’s wish to drive everything through at breakneck speed and his boyish enthusiasm for jump scares — while the viewer never gets to see how Veronica herself might be feeling about what is happening to her, which keeps her a little too remote," he added.

Either way, I'd suggest you don't watch this one too late at night...

Featured Image Credit: Netflix/Sony Pictures Releasing International