Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong
Enid (Niamh Algar) is a UK Film Censor working during the 1980s. She spends her days watching and censoring gratuitously-violent films, or “video nasties” as they were referred to at the time. But she is haunted by the disappearance of her sister when they were children and after having a visceral reaction to a film with an all-too familiar storyline, sets out to find her.
I am not sure what is more horrifying about CENSOR: the storyline or the fact that having the Film take place in the 1980s qualifies it as a period piece. No matter, the startling feature-length debut of Co-Writer/Director Prano Bailey-Bond is an ambitious nightmare about a fragile and unreliable narrator who quickly blurs the line between fiction and reality. At the same time, it works as a satire of the whole concept of Video Nasties – and the media-fueled hysteria that followed the censored or banned films given that designation. Despite Bailey-Bond clearly having a lot to say about both subjects, the loosened structure of the Film does not always coalesce with the lean 84-minute running time. The ideas often get in the way of each other, instead of complementing one another. CENSOR also suffers from being deliberately enigmatic. Its nature works well in certain instances, but some deeper characterizations and motivations could have only improved the Film’s positively deranged second half.
All of that said, I still admire many things about CENSOR. The Film’s moody aesthetic lends well to the time period, favouring drab colours just as much as it does neon red. Bailey-Bond does just as well with how she manipulates the frame throughout the Film in ways that are simultaneously unique and unsettling. The frame changes creep-up on you when you least expect them and have a nasty habit of escalating some of the Film’s bleaker moments. The gore is more judicious than I was expecting given the subject matter, though it still manages to be equally brutal and vicious when it is used. Save for one scene, the Makeup Effects are top-notch. Where CENSOR really soars is with its downright repulsive Sound Effects, used mainly during scenes where Enid and her Co-workers are watching the most comically-perverse films imaginable. Suffice to say, the sounds paint a graphic and disturbing picture that will live in your head rent-free long after you stop watching.
The Supporting Cast is solid, with a standout performance from Michael Smiley as a sleazy Movie Producer. They all pale in comparison to Algar however, who is absolutely riveting as Enid. She commands the screen from beginning to end, masterfully delivering just the right amount of inflection and intensity needed to draw you into the madness that ensues around her. She is sympathetic, even at her most unhinged, and you hang onto her every word for fear of what might happen next. Her eyes are spectacularly expressive and even though the Script does not always do her favours, Algar’s work here is unmissable.
While I wish the Film came together better, CENSOR still manages to be a compelling picture that Horror fans will delight in. The look and feel is terrific and the star making performance from Algar is practically transcendent. This is an admirable feature-length debut from Bailey-Bond and I cannot wait to see what she cooks up next.
Mongrel Media release CENSOR on Digital and On-Demand on Friday, June 18, 2021.
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