‘You can’t edit reality’
Censor is a 2021 British horror film about a young female film examiner troubled by violent films who sets out to solve her sister’s disappearance. Contrary to some of the film’s plot content – which clearly references video nasties – and press release blurb, it is not concerned with the video nasties furore.
Instead, the film exploits the same early 1980s era when video violence was a supposed moral issue whipped up by Christian nutters and tabloid scum newspapers to create a totally fictionalised scenario. Consequently, this blurring of historic reality and filmic fantasy has caused understandable confusion for reviewers and horror fans alike.
Directed by Prano Bailey-Bond (shorts: Nasty; The Trip) – making her feature debut – from a screenplay co-written with Anthony Fletcher.
The Silver Salt Films production stars Niamh Algar (Raised by Wolves, The Virtues, Calm With Horses), Michael Smiley (Come to Daddy; The Nun; Tank 432; Kill List), Vincent Franklin (Gentleman Jack, Bodyguard), Nicholas Burns (Ghost Stories, Nathan Barley), Adrian Schiller (Victoria, The Last Kingdom) and Sophia La Porta (Been So Long). Produced by Helen Sara Jones. Executive producers include Kim Newman, Andrew Starke and Ant Timpson.
Plot:
Britain, 1985. When film censor Enid (Niamh Algar) discovers an eerie horror that speaks directly to her sister’s mysterious disappearance, she resolves to unravel the puzzle behind the film and its enigmatic director – a quest that will blur the lines between fiction and reality in terrifying ways…
Our review:
Anyone watching the trailer for Censor before seeing the film itself will be completely unsurprised by how the plot develops. While it is heartening that the recreation of oppressive mid-80s Britain and gutter press-fuelled paranoia feels accurate the earlier sections of the film’s drabbish colour scheme feel more like it came from the 1970s. Unfortunately, [spoiler alert] Enid’s psychological breakdown and murderous acts are telegraphed well in advance so there is no final pay-off for the viewer.
Strangely, the film depicts film “examiners” being publicly identified by the press whereas they were and still are anonymous censors. Curiously, a real axe is seemingly used as a prop on a film set at the climax. Or was this all in Enid’s deranged mind? It’s not clear and Censor adds nothing but misinformation to the legacy of the British video nasty era. Puzzlingly, the somewhat unfocused script for Censor took three years to write.
Other reviews:
“The first two-thirds of Censor are excellent. The movie combines mystery, character development, and horror perfectly. As the film heads towards its finale, things become unraveled. The video nasty aesthetic remains but the storytelling is replaced with an over the top ending. Exactly like a movie from that period.” AIPT
“Atmospherically photographed, effectively edited, and possessing several genuinely shocking moments […] Enid confronts her fears, as well as some she probably didn’t know she had, spiraling her down to the one place horror fans never actually want to end up: living their worst nightmares. Censor is a smart, stylish, unsettling chiller with an irresistible meta twist.” The Aisle Seat
“Underneath all the style though, there’s real substance, including the danger of repression and censorship. It has a killer ending, and a blackly comic heart, with a gonzo, gore-splattered finale that could help it become a cult classic. Plus, genre stalwart Michael Smiley contributes a fun cameo as a sleazy horror producer. All in all, this is a fun ride…” Arrow in the Head
“Bailey-Bond constructs an almost nightmarish tableau. Transporting Enid into a world which blurs the lines between fact and fantasy; sending her tumbling headlong down a rabbit hole. Gradually descending into madness and becoming what she abhors. Censor is a stylish and brilliant psychological thriller where the shocks aren’t only on screen.” Backseat Mafia
“It’s a quiet introspection that builds to a mind-bending conclusion that will perplex those that prefer concise clarity […] But for those that don’t mind wading through trippy dream logic and a severe lack of hand-holding, there are many rich layers and themes to be mined. It’s intricate, gorgeous, and mesmerizing, with small strokes of David Cronenberg and Peter Strickland.” Bloody Disgusting
“Niamh Algar delivers a full body performance that is polarizingly hypnotizing and distancing. The tension she conveys could be cut with a knife. Her fellow cast are all doing wonderfully as well, providing Censor with a well-rounded grouping of performances which balances out a sometimes rocky plot. The most impressive and jarring element of Censor is its sound.” Claira@Sundance
“Rich colors visually echo the blurring Enid experiences between reality and dreams. Narrative faults then end up partially forgiven by a shock ending that’s as bonkers as it is bleak. Censor doesn’t always have the substance, but director Prano Bailey-Bond, cinematographer Annika Summerson, and production designer Paulina Rzeszowska definitely supply the style.” Culture Crypt
” …Bailey-Bond’s film debut would pair incredibly well […] with Peter Strickland’s Berberian Sound Studio, as both films astutely examine the insidious nature of art and how it affects the lives of those who are on the outside, looking in […] Censor is crafted with pure confidence, and the way that she masterfully blends formats and perspectives has made this an early contender for one of my favorite films of 2021.” Daily Dead
“Even as the film itself warns against the numbing effect of exploitive gore as entertainment, Censor proves that relentlessly beating the audience over the head with non-sequitur gore has a point of diminishing returns. This film’s depiction of creeping madness is so engrossing that it almost completely offsets its slavish devotion to the splatter genre.” Escape into Film
“Censor is pure genre emulation at its most angering and squeamish. A combination of dedicated research and pure nefarious filmmaking, Prano Bailey-Bond displays an awe-striking amount of dedication towards what is essentially one blasphemous social critique. And I’m all for it.” Filmhounds
“The filmmakers behind Censor have masterfully crafted a film that’s an ode to living in the United Kingdom in the 1980s and its divided views regarding horror films and many other aspects of society at that time. Simultaneously, the film is more than just that. It’s about the closure that we, as people, sometimes don’t get and further try so hard to make sense of in situations that have no meaning whatsoever.” First Showing
“Reflecting the themes of other movies such as Videodrome and Berberian Sound Studio, Censor is hardly original when it comes to its actual plot – a character descending into insanity triggered by outside stimulus and/or a traumatic past event – but the specific period setting and Enid’s job as a censor make the movie stand out a little more, offering up a social commentary on the era…” Flickering Myth
” …Censor, despite its narrative inconsistencies, manages to be an enthralling film. One with a fantastic lead performance. Moreover, the incredible attention to detail of the 1980s time period elevates the film to greater heights. Censor is a creative cinematic experience that is an awesome homage to horrors that came before with some interesting commentary on censorship.” Full Circle
“Bailey-Bond reconstructs the uncanny, almost occult world of film itself, and, using her budget cleverly, projects the 80s from claustrophobic closeups on period detail […] With production designer Paulina Rzeszowska and cinematographer Annika Summerson, Bailey-Bond creates something almost unbearably close and oppressive, like the bottom of a murky fish tank.” The Guardian
“Bailey-Bond has crafted a character study that may follow a few familiar fright-fare beats, but any quibbles are made up for with a gorgeously gruesome throwback aesthetic and an unwavering goal on delivering a riveting psychological shocker.” Horror Fuel
“The many in-jokes and allusions to vintage shockers should amuse fans with long memories and substantial home entertainment collections. That said, at times it’s not easy to tell if the sometimes stilted performances from the peripheral cast and bordering-on-cliché narrative moves are part of the homage or just regular weak technique. It’s possible there’s a little of both column A and column B at work here.” The Hollywood Reporter
“Criticised by some as failing as an accurate depiction of the state of the early 1980s UK film industry and to a major extent the video nasty phenomenon, but I don’t think that’s the point of this one at all. I do think, however, that as a depiction of someone living in the early 1980s slowly spiralling into madness it’s quite excellent.” House of Mortal Cinema
“The wild closing moments, a mashup of brutal vengeance and delusions that complete the transition into grainy mayhem, rush past so long it’s a wonder why the movie didn’t give them room to breathe. Censor ends on a spooky note of ambiguity that feels so inevitable it’s almost as if everything leading up to it was an afterthought.” IndieWire
“Those who prefer straight-forward narratives probably won’t appreciate the utter lack of explanation inherent in this fantastical nightmare, but for those who enjoy films which refuse to be held down by logic, Censor is a masterful shredding of the mind that is guaranteed to haunt you for weeks.” Killer Horror Critic
“A horror fan’s wet twisted dream complimented by a stylistically visual world filled with dread and tragedy. With references to movies like The Ring and Evil Dead, Censor is an affected while not perfect social commentary on violence in the media influencing society.” Marquise!@Sundance
“The only problem I have with the movie is the pacing during the end of the second act and the beginning of the third act. It drags and it drags really hard. I know that Prano wants to give it a very hypnotic and delirious vibe, and it does have that vibe [… I think that if that part wasn’t there and the narrative would’ve jumped to the gut-punch of a third act, it would’ve been absolutely perfect.” Mashable India
” …the film ignores the classism and xenophobia that were motivating factors behind the Video Nasties furore […] The character of Frederick North seems incongruous as it was overwhelmingly American and Latin filmmakers who fell foul of the censors, who had no issues with the gory product of Britain’s Hammer and Amicus, which would play on BBC on Saturday nights during this period.” The Movie Waffler
“The ending of Censor seems to conclude that cutting out violence is merely a glossing over of the truth, tidying it up into a more digestible format that isn’t reality. Prano Bailey-Bond’s film is a compelling triumph in the horror genre and an absolute must-see with a truly stunning ending.” One Room with a View
” …thanks to Bailey-Bond’s assured hand and potent visuals – punctured by Annika Summerson‘s burning, neon-soaked aesthetics – the lines between fiction and non-fiction will keep you guessing long after the final, stunning images. Mirroring the historical paranoia that these nasties would deprave and corrupt […] Censor is propulsive and thoughtful, touching and frightening on so many levels it is impossible to ignore.” The People’s Movies
“The lines between screen and actual terror become blurred in ways that keep you guessing and intrigued, and don’t strain to make a Statement. Censor isn’t after a blatant indictment, either of the connection between reel and real violence or those who opportunistically seek to make that connection, though it does offer brief, knowing commentary at a few points…” Rue Morgue
“Like other similar contemporary films – Knife + Heart, to name one – Censor draws on the genre cinema that it’s referencing, specifically the giallo style. Dream sequences and saturated colors represent Enid’s mind and her downward spiral on screen. Censor intersperses reality with the oneiric, bordering on the nightmarish, playing with the link between the real and the fictitious.” Screen Anarchy
“Most effective is the use of colour, which ranges in extremes from the dingy browns of Enid’s home and office to the increasingly disorienting strobing yellow of the projector. Not a single chink of natural light is allowed to permeate Enid’s tightly sealed world until the bombastic final reel, where appalling reality and desperate fantasy collide at breakneck speed.” Screen Daily
“Censor toys with the idea that evil is contagious, and the story of a seriously disturbed woman trying to cope with a past childhood tragedy is a decent vehicle for the message. This isn’t a film that will appeal to many, but it’s worth a mild recommendation for the aesthetics alone.” Screen Zealots
“Once its initial set-up is out of the way the film can’t sustain itself for very long, resulting in a lifeless journey to a predestined finale. What keeps the film’s head above water are the occasional flashes of nerve-jangling horror […] and the film’s climactic sequences, while predictable, still manage to chill, thanks primarily to Algar’s unhinged performance.” SlashFilm
“This is promisingly juicy stuff, even though it’s quickly apparent, from the meticulously beige ’80s styling, DP Annika Summerson’s careful, muted compositions and Enid’s solitary, mournful characterization, that Bailey-Bond, co-writing the script with Anthony Fletcher, has designs for a more artful, far less creaky movie than the ones Enid watches at work — more Berberian Sound Studio than Last House on the Left.” Variety
Trailer:
Release:
Censor opened the Midnight strand at the 2021 Sundance Festival’s Midnight strand on January 28th 2021. More festival showings followed and the film was released in the USA theatrically by Magnolia/Magnet on June 11th 2021.
Censor was released on DVD and On-Demand on September 14, 2021, from Magnolia Pictures under the Magnet label. DVD Special Features include:
Enid’s Story
Censors and The Video Nasty
Sound Design of Censor
Design Elements of Censor
Production:
Censor was developed by the British Film Institute (BFI), Film4, and Creative England and was funded by the BFI and Ffilm Cymru Wales, both awarding National Lottery funding and by Film4, with support from Kodak Motion Picture and Cinelab London.
Cast and characters:
Niamh Algar … Enid Baines; Clare Holman … June; Michael Smiley … Doug Smart; Nick Brimble … Crowd Actor; Adrian Schiller … Frederick North; Felicity Montagu … Valerie; Sophia La Porta … Alice Lee; Nicholas Burns … Sanderson; Beau Gadsdon … Young Enid; Vincent Franklin … Fraser; Guillaume Delaunay … Beastman; Andrew Havill … George; Erin Shanagher … Debbie; Clare Perkins … Anne; Richard Glover … Gerald; Robert Vernon … Tom; Danny Lee Wynter … Perkins; Amelie Child Villiers … Nina; Madeleine Hutchins … Marilyn; Matthew Earley … Gordon; Ric Renton … Frank
Technical stuff:
1 hour 24 minutes
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