VERONICA CWC D: Paco Plaza. Spain. 105 min. Sep 8, 10 pm, Scotiabank 2 Sep 10, 9:45 pm, Scotiabank 10 Sep 17, 6:45 pm, Scotiabank 11. Rating: NNN
After three frenetic chapters of the [REC] series, Plaza shifts gears for a slow-burn, decidedly retro supernatural thriller, which is not only set in 1991 but produced with an eye toward the horror movies of the period.
Sandra Escacena is the eponymous hero, a Madrid teenager who makes the classic mistake of trying to contact the spirit of her dead father during a total eclipse of the sun. (Kids, you know better.) Next thing she knows, shes having violent episodes and she and her three younger siblings are being stalked by a malevolent force on a nightly basis.
Supposedly based on actual events, Veronica likely owes more to Plaza wearing out his videotapes of A Nightmare On Elm Street, Prince Of Darkness and Witchboard as a kid. Turns out imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery.