10 Spanish Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die

Insidious and The Conjuring are two of the most successful horror films of the last decade. Both movies follow a simple recipe: start by putting a child in danger of being possessed or killed by a demon, sprinkle in some “based on a true story” to help ground the supernatural shenanigans in realty and add a heaping cup of jump scares. However, Spain’s answer to this popular formula in Veronica is more effective than both The Conjuring and Insidious.

Opening with a horrifyingly believable emergency phone call from a distraught young girl playing over police arriving at a home that is torn to pieces, the movie immediately plants a firm foot in reality before getting to the demon stuff. Flashback to three days prior, and we learn what lead to this horrific situation. We find out that 15-year-old Veronica has brought the wrath of a dark spirit upon herself and her working-class family after playing with a Ouija board.

Director Paco Plaza is really good at taking implausible plots and making them feel tangible. Veronica provides plenty of genuinely creepy moments, because it feels so palpable. From setting the film in 1991, to the way the children behave, to the aesthetic of the house and school that provide the setting for much of the film, this feels like a real family, in a real place and time, in real danger.

Veronica also gets bonus points for including Icelandic Sigils as a major plot device, because a little Viking folklore mixed in with Spanish horror just adds to the fun.