Verónica (2017)

Directed by Paco Plaza. Starring Sandra Escacena, Bruna González, Iván Chavero, Claudia Placer, Ana Torrent, Consualo Trujillo, Ángela Fabián, Carla Campra, Chema Adeva.

While fooling around with friends surrounding a Ouija board during a solar eclipse, teenage girl Verónica (Escacena) is invaded by a dark spirit which attaches itself to her. Standard story of its type with a lot of familiar elements—a witchboard séance, a creepy yet knowledgeable old blind lady (a nun, in this case), mirror visions, ancient protective symbols, family being torn asunder, etc.—but they’re done with just enough skill and style that it never quite becomes tiresome. Some effective imagery (e.g., hallucinations of cannibalistic children) and better-than-average child/teen performances make up for the shortage of innovation in its scare tactics. Inspired by supposedly-witnessed true events in Spain during the early-90s.

60/100