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.
