Review of Censor (2021) by Rebecca31 — 30 Nov 2021

Enid (Niamh Algar) works as a film censor and after viewing one of the latest video nasties she is shocked to find it strangely familiar. She begins to delve deep into her own memories to try and solve the past mystery of her sister’s disappearance. The further she investigates the more the line between fiction and reality become blurred.

A wonderful debut from director Prano Bailey-Bond and a magnificent and thrilling experience you won’t want to miss. Censor forces you to question the role of the film censor during a time of mass hysteria over violence in films and its alleged connection to a rise in crime. “Won’t somebody please think of the children?!” But what happens when it’s your job to view these extremely violent movies on a daily basis and decide what should and shouldn’t been seen by the wider public? What happens to your own mind if it’s continually subjected to endless gore and horror? We follow Enid as the story slowly starts to unravel keeping you in a constant state of dread and unease. As an avid viewer of horror movies it’s refreshing to see something different, unpredictable and genuinely unnerving throughout. This should be a reminder to production companies that throwing huge money at movies just for the sake of it doesn’t always pay off and is not the answer to everything.

I love a good low budget horror movie, and even though it’s only new in 2021, Censor already has a cult movie vibe to it. I assume that’s what Prano Bailey-Bond was going for, because it feels very retro. Highly recommended for all the movie buffs.