By NathanEdwardPriem
People think that I create the horror, but I don’t. Horror is already out there, in all of us. It’s in you.
Overview
A screener at the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), who has earned an unsavory reputation for being the strictest censor of violent films, begins to spiral out of control after viewing a low-budget horror with similarities to the disappearance of her sister.
Censor is a film about a BBFC film censor named Enid and her sense of reality unraveling after watching a movie which features similarities to her sister’s disappearance.
The film features actors portraying strange, fantastical, yet horrifying creatures called “British People”.
It heavily features the “video nasty” moral panic in the U.K. (Back before they had real problems apparently.)
It wasn’t just shlock that was banned, classic films such as “The Exorcist” (1973) , A Clockwork Orange” (1971) , and even the original Night of the Living Dead of all things were essentially banned or edited. (Try to guess how I feel about that as a Libertarian Artist?)
Apparently “The Exorcist” in particular caused FEMALE HYSTERIA™! (and they call me sexist!)
People should just stick to wholesome British things like tabloids or true crime!
Anyway this is a review not an essay… (Though I should write one about my distaste for exploitive true crime (which is socially acceptable) and contrasting it with fictional horror movies.)
After a man eats someone’s face (He conveniently “can’t remember”…guess we got to let him off the hook!) the press blames a horror film Enid passed which features face-eating (So many of the great ones do.) and she begins to receive threatening phone calls blaming her for the man’s crime.
Between this and watching a movie with an actress who resembles her missing sister (with similarities to her abduction) Enid begins to slowly unravel with repressed memories of her sister’s death coming up.
The film features a great claustrophobic atmosphere and an faux-retro aesthetic which brings to mind Longlegs (2024). (They even feature the same style logo which appears suddenly.)
Come to think of it the repressed workaholic protagonist also brings to mind “Longlegs” (2024)…
Niamh Algar does a great job as the repressed lead of the film balancing frumpy conservatism
The soundtrack is good too and features a frantic faux-retro vibe which again has similarities to Longlegs (2024) to the point where I think Osgood Perkins was clearly influenced by this film. (It could be a complete coincidence though…maybe the movie made ME crazy!)
The lighting is fantastic and there are some brilliant shots. (I like the Evil Dead-esqe “Exploitation Movie” “flashback” scenes too.)
The ending is great and reminds me a lot of “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me” (1992) in it’s surreal operatic depiction of murder and heavenly scene of redemption.
Also like Longlegs I really want to like the film more than I do.
It’s well made and effective with evocative scenes, great ideas, and an interesting time period for a setting.
The ending is emotional and actually got my heart racing a bit.
its just…missing something intangible that can’t be described to prevent it from being a really great movie and I feel bad for it.
My Score-
75/100
I’m giving it a slight recommendation, I’m glad I watched it but I would watch it more for the mood and to appreciate the filmmaking then I would as a narrative.
Until then I’m Nathan Edward Priem and that…was something else.