Deleter

In Deleter, Mikhail Red delivers a decent horror that's both familiar and accessible. At its core is Nadine Lustre, whose magnetic presence keeps you engaged throughout. She's has a great register on cam and is clearly the film's focal point, and it's no surprise she's becoming Red's muse with another horror follow up, Nokturno.

The movie feels like late '90s and early '00s Japanese horror films like Ringu and Kairo, using glitchy CCTV and webcam footages. What sets Deleter apart is how it captures the everyday anxieties of office life in the Philippines-from the toxic co workers and low wages to the darker realities of exploitation and workplace assault-all within the high-stress backdrop of a BPO environment.

Red has a knack for storytelling given limited characters and locations. Be it in a vast Philippine forest or in a clasutrophobic Manila concrete jungle.

Ultimately, Deleter offers a fun, fleeting horror experience, delivering exactly what it promises: jump scares, stylized visuals, and over 90 minutes of Nadine Lustre - all we need for a li'l Netflix and chill, only time it is only streaming at Amazon Prime.

Having won the most major awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Sound, etc) and a number 1 Box Office spot in local and international Film Festivals are already enough reasons to watch this most talked about film of the year. It was so good that it reached international audiences and was extended to still be shown in cinemas the following year.

The plot was thought-provoking, catches everyone's interest, original and believable. What made it enjoyable to watch was the unexpected jump-scares & gripping scenes that turned the cinemas into a scary roller-coaster ride.

The themes and tone really matched the film with symbolism used in good taste.

The acting of the leading actress Nadine Lustre was outstanding breaking the mould of relying on love teams for a film's success, she surprised everyone with her acting chops displaying a different side of her in this movie. She had the challenges of having computer screens as her co-actors and carrying the entire film by herself.

The Direction, Score, Cinematography, Production Design, Special Effects and Editing were all world-class. It was indeed a masterpiece by the Red Brothers and Nadine Lustre.

I get why there are mixed reviews about this movie. The concept is new, it is not everyday that we get to take a look at a life of a "content moderator" - and an industry that not everyone is aware of yet something relatable since everyone uses social media. This could be why the reviews are kind of extreme. Some people really love it and some hate it. As a horror fan, i find it disappointing. Given the new plot and concept, it really has great potential but it failed to deliver. The slow pace, the failed build up of characters, problematic and illogical timelines killed it. I've seen this type of genre where it banks on psychological and eerie ambience which should have worked for this type of story but it just didn't for me. Probably because there are too many unnecessary scenes. I have to give it to the main actress (Nadine) for her acting and I totally admire her portrayal of the protagonist. If you are looking for a jump scare or unexpected twist then this is also NOT for you. The story apart from the concept is also nothing new and is very predictable. A wasted opportunity for a promising concept.

One of the most successful Horror films from the Philippines, "Deleter" takes on the rarely discussed life of the content moderator and expounds on the awful and grisly nature of the job with a corresponding tale of horror and revenge. A troubled, vape-imbibing young woman with a job as a "content moderator", someone who edits videos of all kinds (and the awfulness that implies) is haunted by her past and present which eventually catches up to her. Filmed in dark tones the corporate world of Metro Manila is the setting in this sordid tale of darkness and vengeance. With her exotic allure Nadine Lustre is the star as she ably leads and steals every scene with her portrayal of a disturbed and fundamentally unsympathetic young woman whose unpleasant and self-serving nature prove to be her undoing. The film shows the underlying hypocrisy and plasticity of human interaction in the capital and hence the world and is a representative work of the times. The movie sacrifices flash for reality by limiting the CGI / special effects and is a double-edged sword. While making the film less juvenile by limiting technology the film fails at times to convey the nightmarish scenarios it tries to convey by at times flat attempts at realistic real-time horror. The movie slips here and there in trying to get the right balance and the inconsistency marrs what could have been a topnotch film. Viewing this nonetheless it's good to see Philippine film finally catching up with international cinema by utilizing the strengths of Hollywood with good directing, sound casting, consistenly solid acting, seamless cinematography and a well-written, realistic script. While flawed this is worth watching for Nadine Lustre and for anyone who wants a good unsettling scare with a different slant to it.

What initially seemed like a fresh and innovative take on Philippine horror turned out to be yet another cliché supernatural revenge story. Deleter had all the makings of something unique-a psychological horror centered on the eerie and disturbing world of content moderation, an industry that exposes real-life workers to some of the darkest corners of the internet. The premise alone had the potential to explore paranoia, detachment, and the psychological toll of filtering out humanity's worst impulses online. Unfortunately, the film never fully commits to this idea, instead falling back on tired horror tropes that undermine what could have been a truly unsettling experience.

One of the biggest disappointments is how Deleter wastes its most intriguing element-its protagonist's profession. The job of content moderation itself is already horrifying in its own way, but rather than leaning into that psychological horror, the film takes a predictable route, introducing yet another vengeful spirit. There's nothing particularly compelling about Nadine Lustre's character, Lyra, aside from her being introverted and seemingly desensitized to disturbing content due to past trauma. But the film never allows us to truly understand her beyond that. She is written as an enigma, but not in a way that invites curiosity-rather, she feels like an incomplete character whose backstory is only vaguely hinted at.

Horror, at its best, is not just about ghosts and jump scares-it's about confronting deeper fears, exposing societal truths, and making audiences uncomfortable with realities they might prefer to ignore. Deleter had the perfect setup to explore themes of desensitization, digital morality, and the psychological decay that comes with constant exposure to horrifying online content. It could have examined the horror of the unknown-not in the form of a vengeful ghost, but in the way the internet warps our perception of reality, blurs the line between normal and depraved, and leaves lasting scars on those tasked with moderating it. Instead, the film takes the easy way out, using supernatural elements as a crutch rather than trusting the strength of its original premise.

Ultimately, Deleter feels like a missed opportunity. It had the chance to be a thought-provoking, psychological horror film-one that could have stood out in Philippine cinema as something truly different. Instead, it settles for familiar territory, offering surface-level scares rather than diving into the truly disturbing potential of its concept. If it had dared to push further, to trust its own premise instead of retreating into ghost story clichés, it could have been something far more memorable.