Kisapmata (Filipino for "in the blink of an eye"[1]) is a 1981 Philippine psychological horror film directed by Mike de Leon from a screenplay he co-wrote with Clodualdo del Mundo Jr. and Raquel Villavicencio.

[2] The piece chronicles the events leading to the highly publicized familicide committed by Pablo Cabading, a retired policeman.

[3] Considered as a pioneer of psychological horror film genre in the Philippines, its subject matter and themes, especially drawn inspirations and parallels from true crime stories, marked the first major treatment of incest in Philippine cinema, while its message has been viewed as a commentary against the patriarchy and the regime of then-President Ferdinand Marcos.

[6] The film was inspired by "The House on Zapote Street", written by Nick Joaquin under the pen name Quijano de Manila.

Divided into six "episodes," it is written in the New Journalism style, based on the journalist's own primary research and investigation, including witness interviews.

[9] Joaquin's reportage is silent about any rape that may have been committed by the father but academic Joyce Arriola states that "the text suggests that possibility.

According to the director, in the 1970s, he was approached by the brother of one of the convicted perpetrators of the rape of Maggie de la Riva to make a movie about the crime.

[12] De Leon was also interested in adapting Joaquin's article as early as 1978 but experienced difficulty in finding a producer who was willing to back a film with such dark themes.

Their co-writing process started with group discussions, followed by del Mundo and Villavicencio writing separate scenes that de Leon would make a composite from.

[15] Back in 1978, Villavicencio answered a newspaper ad and participated in de Leon and del Mundo's first and only LVN Filmmaking Workshop.

Maceda's other production, Pakawalan Mo Ako starring Vilma Santos, was behind schedule and financing two films simultaneously was too expensive.

Production on Batch '81 continued three months later; by that time de Leon and his creative team had filmed Kisapmata.

The set was ready in three weeks, in which time Hernando and art director Lea Locsin remodeled it and added borrowed furniture to work around their tight budget.

She would go on to produce such films as Peque Gallaga's Oro, Plata, Mata and Ishmael Bernal's Himala before becoming the president and chief executive officer of ABS-CBN Corporation.

[29] Nevertheless, Kisapmata was subjected to the Board of Censors for Motion Pictures, then headed by Senator Maria Kalaw Katigbak, who required de Leon to remove a scene where the father enters his daughter's room as she fearfully waits for him come in.

Katigbak told de Leon that the scene "showed him [the father] in an aroused state," to which the director, although complying with the demand, disagreed with.

"[9]Kisapmata explores the concept of strongman rule as exemplified by the character of Dadong, ang Tatang, the psychotic padre de familia, rendered monstrous by the unforgettable performance of Vic Silayan.

Kisapmata is generally viewed as an allegory of the dictatorial regime of then President Ferdinand Marcos, a theme director Mike de Leon explores in his films Batch '81 and Sister Stella L.[31] Academic Nicanor Tiongson found the violent and unreasonable relationship of Dadong Carandang, the over-possessive father, with Mila, his incest victim, as a microcosm of Marcos' rule.

Released one year before martial law was lifted, during a time of growing political upheaval, the desperation and breakdown of the father as his daughter slips away subtly points towards the fragile condition of the Philippine nation.

"[34] Production designer Cesar Hernando found the split-level house "eerily similar" to the structure described in Nick Joaquin's article, where a person standing in the sala below could watch the doors of the bedrooms and bathrooms on the upper floor.

[23][35] Film academic Tito Quiling, Jr. notes: "From the archetypal image of a domestic space as a symbol of security, the home becomes a representation of threat.

"[36] On December 24, 1981, a day before the opening of the 7th Metro Manila Film Festival, a temporary restraining order was filed by Asuncion Cabading to stop the screening of Kisapmata.

[6] The restoration's opening break bumper includes a dedication to several cast and crew members who had died since the original premiere: production designer Cesar Hernando, as well as actors Charito Solis, Jay Ilagan, Vic Silayan, and Ruben Rustia.

[6] On December 19, 2020, the restored version of Kisapmata was made available to stream for free for one day through de Leon's Vimeo account "Citizen Jake.

Noel Vera, writing for BusinessWorld, called Kisapmata "easily Mike de Leon's masterpiece" and "one of the greatest Filipino films.

"[9] At the 7th Metro Manila Film Festival, Kisapmata won ten of the festival awards: Best Film, Best Director, Best Story, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Silayan), Best Supporting Actor (Ilagan), Best Supporting Actress (Solis), Best Editing, Best Production Design, and Best Sound Engineering.