Film Review — Censor (2021)
★★★☆☆
A meticulous film censor develops an obsession with a disturbing film that could hold the key to solving the mystery of her long-missing sister.
Set against the backdrop of Thatcher’s Britain, Censor attempts in vain to balance its ideas. Its opening moments pose interesting questions about the morality of releasing dangerous content into a troubled society in desperate need of an outlet. But this sadly fizzles, replaced by a family mystery that becomes increasingly tedious as it slowly morphs into something we’ve seen done better before.
As first efforts go, however, this is very encouraging stuff from debuting director/co-writer Prano Bailey-Bond. The production is excellent, superbly capturing the video nasty aesthetic and the contrasting grey concrete and sharp neons so closely associated with the era.
Niamh Algar continues to deliver strong performances, feeling destined to become a household name in the same vein as her The Wonder co-star Florence Pugh.
Censor feels like a companion piece to David Cronenberg’s eighties shocker Videodrome. On the other side of the same coin, this retro-infused horror finds its protagonist caught in an increasingly surrealist nightmare filled with less-than-savoury characters, as well as their own rapidly disintegrating grasp of reality.
But Bailey-Bond can’t hang with her classic genre inspirations. Not yet, anyway.
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