Censor
It’s no secret that I’m a big horror fan. I mean, you’re reading this on a blog dedicated to the genre, so I’d question your thought process if that wasn’t already a given. I also have a particular soft spot (or hard on, depending on your metaphoric preferences) for horror directed by women. The only thing left to put a cherry on top is a horror film directed by a British woman (a Scottish woman would of course be raspberry sauce and chocolate sprinkles).
Ticking off enough to tickle is the 2021 debut feature ‘Censor’ from Welsh writer/director Prano Bailey-Bond. I managed to catch a screening with a live Q&A from the director herself at the Glasgow Film Theatre and loved it so much I had to back for seconds a week later.
Censor follows strait laced Enid Baines (Niamh Algar) – a film censor working at the British Board of Film Classification during the controversy of the ‘video nasties’ in the 80s.
Enid spends her days methodically cutting the more gruesome and controversial scenes from explicit films prior to release in a questionable effort at protecting the public from such extreme material.
Whilst I am too young myself to remember the video nasty scandal first hand, arguably society has learned nothing from the well publicised controversy. The topic of censorship continues to be debated, with groups regularly targeted as deviants guilty of offending the sensibilities of polite civilisation. One such notable example is the recurring theme of heavy metal music being erroneously linked to abhorrent acts of violence and criminality.
Algar’s collected and at times almost clinical portrayal of Enid depicts the young woman as utterly unfazed by the scripted horrors she witnesses day in day out. Is Enid an enigma? Desensitised to the brutality of the material? Or is Enid, like many horror fans will likely personally attest to – simply capable of distinguishing fact from fiction?
As the film develops, we learn there may be a far more harrowing reason for her sober demeanour, one that arguably begins to dismantle the grounds for censorship in the first place.
Beyond her calm exterior, Enid is carrying personal trauma and pain that cannot be cut and discarded like a reel of film. We learn that Enid had a sister, Nina – who went missing during childhood and is presumed dead. Though Enid was present at the time of disappearance, she is unable to remember what happened – her own mind censoring her memories to protect her from the trauma experienced.
Despite the noble intentions of her career, no amount of censorship can remove the very real horrors that people have to endure each day. When most acts of violence on the big screen are within the realms of possibility in real life – is there any benefit to this behaviour of avoidance that is frankly akin to putting your fingers in your ears, closing your eyes and singing ‘la la la la la’ at the top of your lungs?
Algar’s performance is fantastic, drawing the viewer in to Enid’s declining mental state and increasingly erratic behaviour.
This is enhanced by the strong performances of the rest of the cast – in particular Michael Smiley as the lecherous film producer.
Censor is able to explore trauma with real nuance, and the fact that the protagonist is a woman lets Bond open up a whole other realm of horror to delve into – from the indecent advances Enid endures to the micro-aggressions and undermining behaviour that every woman will recognise.
Beyond the powerful themes tackles in Censor is some truly beautiful filmmaking. Bond uses colour to evoke the era and manages to capture the essence of the emotion by utilising disconcerting angles and cuts.
As the film swells to its grand finale, it is every bit as garish and saturated as the films Enid is trying to ban. The surreal final scenes reminded me very much of the powerful close of ‘Saint Maud’, and the disconcerting dreaminess of Sam Ashurt’s ‘A Little More Flesh’. Enid’s declining mental state leads the viewer to question the veracity of events and ponder the age old dilemma – does exposure to violence lead to a predilection for it? Even some of the most controversial films were borne of reality – for example the links to Ed Gein in the inspiration to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
The fantastic debut has led to Bond receiving the Screen Daily Rising Star Award, and film critic Mark Kermode sums it up perfectly in a quote that frankly sends shivers of delight down my spine :
“It all adds up to a brilliantly adventurous first feature from a razor-sharp film-maker on the rise, who joins the likes of Jennifer Kent, Julia Ducournau, Natalie Erika James, Rose Glass et al in proving that the future of cutting-edge horror is fearless, forthright and female.”
Censor packs a punch and is a perfect example of women kicking ass in the genre. I cannot wait to see what Bond delivers next.
