Those eager to watch this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival should not miss Mikhail Red’s “Deleter.”
It is among better made films in the batch.
Billed as a suspense thriller, it is full of effective jump scares, among other practices meant to draw out
screams.
Sure, Mikhail’s approach is not exactly novel but the execution is right on.
Clearly, he has studied the theme and quite well.
Unlike others of his ilk, however, Mikhail is attentive enough to be mindful not only with such, or how
the story unfolds or how a certain character completes his or her arch, he is also careful with the overall
look and feel and tempo of the film.
The images are crisp, clear; the tone palette just right. The whole film actually looks rich, expensive, if compared to most locally made flicks.
The storytelling is likewise superb. Mikhail doesn’t want to jolt his audience at the first instant, he
prefers a slow dance.
Like a lover slowly undressing his muse, the director is bent on savoring the moment, knowing that if he
does it right the reward is already a given.
Truly, it should be said that Mikhail is the star of “Deleter.”
Not to take away from the brilliant performance of his cast, of course. Everyone involved shined with special mention to Jeffrey Hidalgo and Nadine Lustre. Who would’ve thought that the clean-cut singer, actor could actually pull off creepy? Nadine is splendid as a content moderator at the end of her tethers.
She once told us how she wants to introduce fans to a more mature, more daring version of herself.
Well, if this is just a sneak peek, we can’t wait to see more.
“Deleter” is now in cinemas.
