Deleter

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.

A content moderator experiences bizarre visions and nightmares after her co-worker dies. The aftermath of this death criss-crosses with the stress of her job and her own past. The first 30 minutes was good: dark subject matter, eerie atmosphere, appealing questions to answer. It was a fine setup. Sadly, the film went down from there but not so much as to call this film a failure.

The best part about this film is the rarely explored world of content moderation. We see here the trauma that workers in this field experience, how even though they try to disengage from the terrible videos they watch regularly, they can't. Watching just the snippets of these videos in the movie made me look away, and I can't imagine what these people go through. They tackled this well and that is the biggest reason why I gave this film 6 stars and not 5 or 4. I wish they explored and used this theme more than they did.

The acting, overall, was nice. There were scenes where I wanted more from the actors, but the positives outweigh the negatives. Also, I wish they used their characters more or gave viewers more information about them.

The atmosphere was creepy in the first half but downgraded from there. It would have been better if they went all-out and removed some background music. Also, the dark lighting of the film became tiring to the eyes as the film went on.

The biggest downside of this film is the mystery/reveal. That was a letdown considering the good setup from the beginning. They have something great and yet they chose a weak, uninventive answer to the mystery.

The ending was another letdown. It's open to interpretation but it was bad.

This film had an interesting subject, decent acting, and nice first-half atmosphere. But, the second half didn't hold up to the first one, especially with the weak mystery and bad ending. Still, I think it had some positives that Filipino horror filmmakers should build on.

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.

Deleter is a movie that unfortunately falls short in terms of plot, acting, and scares. The plot of the movie is not well-developed and lacks coherence, making it difficult to follow and engage with.

The acting is also not up to par, with the performances feeling wooden and unconvincing.

Additionally, the movie fails to deliver any real scares, with even the most supposedly suspenseful moments feeling flat and uninspired.

In fact, some of the horror videos on Tiktok are more frightening and effective at creating a sense of dread.

Overall, Deleter is not worth watching due to its shortcomings in plot, acting, and scares. It is better to save your time and energy for a movie that is more engaging and well-made.

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.