''Violator'' (stylized as ''VIOLA†OR'') is a 2014 Filipino

psychological horror film Psychological horror is a subgenre of horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre frequently overlaps with the related subgen ...

written and directed by Eduardo "Dodo" Dayao. It stars

Victor Neri Victor Luis Juan Hilado Neri (born February 19, 1976) is a Filipino people, Filipino actor, singer and chef. Personal life Neri is also a chef and owns a restaurant named ''Saute''. In 2007, Neri took a break from the entertainment industry ...

, Anthony Falcon, RK Bagatsing, Timothy Mabalot, Andy Bais, and

Joel Lamangan Joel Lamangan (born September 21, 1952) is a Filipino film director, television director and actor. His award-winning films includes '' The Flor Contemplacion Story'', ''Sidhi'', '' Deathrow'', ''Hubog'', '' Aishte Imasu 1941'', '' Blue Moon'' an ...

. It premiered at the

Cinema One Originals The Cinema One Originals Film Festival, a division of ABS-CBN Films commonly known as Cinema One Originals, is an independent film festival in the Philippines held annually in the month of November in Quezon City. Its primary goal is to showcase ...

film festival, where it won Best Editing, Best Picture, Best Sound, and Best Supporting Actor for Bais. At the

Gawad Urian Awards The Gawad Urian Awards are annual film awards in the Philippines held since 1977. It is given by the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino (MPP, "the Filipino Film Critics") and is currently regarded as the counterpart of the United States' New York Fi ...

, it won Best Sound and was nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Supporting Actor for Lamangan.

Premise

At the height of a super-typhoon that could well be the first wave of an impending

Apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imager ...

, five men take refuge in a flooded-in police station and spend the rest of the night with a prisoner who may or may not be the Devil.

Cast

as Gilberto Pring * Anthony Falcon as Lukas Manabat *

RK Bagatsing Ramon Khino "RK" S. Bagatsing (born May 9, 1988) is a Filipino film and television actor. Bagatsing is most notable for the role of Arnaldo Ardiente Torillo in the ABS-CBN primetime series ''Wildflower''. Early life Bagatsing is the son of ac ...

as Gabriel Ragas * Timothy Mabalot as Nathan Winston Payumo * Andy Bais as Vic *

as Benito Alano

Production

Writer-director Dayao is a film critic, and ''Violator'' is his directorial debut. He says the step was natural to him, though he accepts others find it less so. When casting the film, Dayao consciously cast the actors against type. All of the actors were his first choices, and they all took the roles that he desired.

Release

''Violator'' premiered on November 10, 2014, at the

film festival.

Reception

Derek Elley Derek Elley (born c. 1955) is an American film and music critic and author, best known as the resident film critic for ''Variety'' until his departure in March 2010. With over 1200 reviews to his credit as of December 2014 on ''Rotten Tomatoes'', h ...

of ''

Film Business Asia ''Film Business Asia'' was a film trade magazine based in Hong Kong. The magazine was created in 2010 by Patrick Frater, former journalist for ''Variety'', ''The Hollywood Reporter'', and '' Screen International'' and Stephen Cremin, co-founder o ...

'' rated the film 6 out of 10 stars and, while calling it an impressive debut, wrote that it "is stronger on technique than actual content". Richard Kuipers of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote, "This stylishly assembled Filipino chiller creates plenty of intrigue but can't quite deliver a knockout punch." Michael Atkinson of ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'' called it "an apocalyptic creep-out as heavy with atmosphere and portent as a doomsday sermon". Todd Brown of

Twitch Film Screen Anarchy, previously known as Twitch Film or Twitch, is a Canadian English-language website featuring news and reviews of mainly international, independent and cult films. The website was founded in 2004 by Todd Brown. In addition to films, ...

called it "a gorgeously executed and tightly controlled exercise in religious dread".

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 4149246 2014 films 2014 horror films Philippine supernatural horror films 2010s Tagalog-language films Apocalyptic films Philippine psychological horror films Religious horror films 2010s psychological horror films 2014 directorial debut films 2010s English-language films