Speaking in an interview in support of the film last summer, Plaza said it’s the fear of the uncontrollable that makes the genre so unnerving.
Veronica – inspired by a true story – is currently streaming on Netflix and has become a sensation; famously terrifying some audiences so much that they can’t even finish it.
Plaza told CineEuropa: “Humour is very difficult to get across, but horror is easy, because we’re all afraid of the same things.
“The greatest panic comes with not being able to control a situation, where rules are arbitrary and anything can happen. That’s universal.”
He added: “We’ve had a few years of fantastic films in the genre, such as Raw, my favourite film from last year, which also talks about the transition through puberty.
“The horror genre is an excellent vehicle for talking about complex things: how we are, our emotions and our fears.”
In the same interview, Plaza had also spoken about how the movie stars Ana Torrent – who also played a character with her own name in the classic Cria cuervos.
“I love to think of Verónica as a false sequel to that film,” he revealed.
“Ana Torrent is a mythical actress, as a teenager I was very disturbed by her performance in Jaime de Armiñàn’s El nido.
“I wanted to play games and include a few references to Cria cuervos, but I didn’t want to exaggerate, as the film needs to have a life of its own to some extent, and when you use homages to other films to drive a film, you run the risk of losing sight of the film’s aim in itself.”
Despite success, Veronica has received mixed reviews from critics over recent weeks.
Veronica is out now on Netflix.