It’s been a bit of a slow start to this years NYAFF, but as we enter the business end of the festival things are picking up in the form of the unusual, unorthodox horror, Violater.
The Filipino horror might quite possibly be my first array into Filipino cinema – another great reason why the New York Asian Film Festival is such a great festival to throw yourself into, and what a debut film to enjoy for any newcomers. You’re going to have to keep a close eye on the screen though (as much as you may have the urge to look away) because this one is a bit confusing.
Violator doesn’t really have much of a story, which sounds strange when it garners such an endorsement. Instead writer/director Dodo Dayao creates many Vignettes that allude more and more to the coming events before we enter the second half of Violator, which then becomes the film (short film, I guess you would say) that ties a few things together. The main part of the film would be that a group of police officers are stuck in their station during a huge hurricane in Manila, with whispers of the end of the world coming from rapture enthusiasts. Things go from strange to creepy when a young boy is brought into custody with fears he has been possessed by a demon, maybe the devil himself.
Let’s face it, horror, especially mainstream horror, has become bland to the point of non-existent. I’m ever critical of the cheap scare tactics that we have to bear witness to. The jumping out in front of a screen, bumping up the volume just at the right moment to make you jump a little more. If I hide behind a wall and jump out at you just before you’re about to come round the corner have I scared you? No, I’ve startled you immensely. And that’s all we get now in Hollywood. We’re living in the startle era. But when a film like Violator comes around, it injects life back into the genre and demands our love and attention which we’re happy to give.
Violator really does demand that we watch the screen. Even in the random vignettes, the tension and creepiness increase and you sense it’s building towards something. It’s a real shame the vignettes couldn’t tie in a better story for the final act, and that the final act itself wasn’t the centrepiece of the entire film, because really that would have been pretty cool, but Violator is still a fun and chilling watch regardless and one that any true horror fan won’t want to miss.
Violator is showing on Wednesday July 8th , 10PM at Walter Reade Theatre.
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