Censor

This is a typical hyped British film from the BFI and Film Four the main money attached to the movie. As is typical of hype, it usually covers up average or if not, just plain rubbish. Is this rubbish? No, but it is a full length debut so it 5/10, if it were a seasoned director it would be a 4/10 at best. There is nothing new, no new technique, no new plot twist, not even new scenes. Just a very average film that pinches from 70's gore fests to the present (Stranger Things, Color Out of Space). It's not even well directed or acted in places, it's just the critics keeping the board of the BFI, Film Four happy so they can keep having the jollies together. If you have an hour and half to kill for an average film where you enter with nothing and expect nothing, well this is for you.

"Censor" should on paper be a film that I would be instantly in to. Set in the "Video Nasties" time in the UK, it's about the story of a video censor and her descent into madness.

Similar stories have already been told in the likes of Berberian Sound Studio or Evil Ed - and while Censor has some brilliant moments of atmosphere and a haunting ending, the whole thing didn't really fully come together for me in the end.

I think maybe the psychological state of our protagonist was not established enough to fully believe her transition, so it all felt a bit too forced.

But there's still a lot to admire in Prano Bailey-Bond's debut feature, it just wasn't as engaging as I had hoped.

The story is not so engaging, and it didn't go anywhere. The ending is confusing too.

I really wanted this to be great. And if you were, like me to believe the press then the director is on a par with Kubrick. But, alas it's all just hype, hype, hype. And that is so damaging for the director it's untrue. Do the press not care about her career. Many of us now feel conned by being lured in to believing we were getting something expectational and sadly all we got was something mediocre.

I'll start by saying I am very glad I did not watch the trailer before viewing this film, and it is easy to see why some felt duped. To be clear, this is NOT a thriller. Do not go into this film expecting answers. Instead, it is an often-surreal (and in my opinion fascinating) look into a character's downward spiral. It is stylish, well-acted, and especially considering this is Prano Bailey-Bond's first feature it is surprising brave and bold with its narrative decisions. The film's greatest strength is its ambiguity, I also think this is where the film loses a lot of people.

I see a lot of reviews here complaining that this film has nothing to say, which is absolutely not true. However, it doesn't spoon feed you a concrete moral message such as "censorship = bad". It instead confronts these topics from multiple angles, both showing how ridiculous the conversation was around film during the video nasty era and also showing how a film can actually affect a vulnerable person's mind. I wouldn't go as far as to say it'll blow your mind with it's insightfulness, but it is at least trying to give the audience something worth thinking about, and I appreciate that.

Also, 84mins! Perfect length for a film like this, in fact some of my favourite films of the past couple of years have been below the 90min mark and I hope this trend continues.