292. Censor; movie review

 

 

CENSOR

Cert 15

84 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong bloody violence, language, sexual threat

When I first began writing the everyfilm blog more than a decade ago I had a grand notion that it could qualify me to be a censor at the British Board of Film Classification.

I loved the idea of seeing movies before everyone else and even feel part of the industry which I had loved from afar.

However, I then read that a censor's job is far from glamorous and that most of the time they watch third-rate pictures and porn, advising where the editor's scissors should be applied.

Indeed, it seems it could even be traumatic as is suggested in Prano Bailey-Bond's Censor.

It stars Niamh Algar as Enid, who works for the BBFC during the height of the debates about so-called video nasties.

She is know for being strictest among the censors, taking her power to make cuts very seriously.

However, it is soon obvious that Niamh is also traumatised after witnessing a family tragedy as a child and it soon becomes clear that her job is adding damage to her frayed psyche.

Algar impresses in the lead role as a woman who begins to blur reality with the horrors going around her head.

But I couldn't help wondering that Censor's interesting premise needed a bigger budget to enhance its execution.

Instead, the dialogue is stilted and the mental frailties of the main character don't dovetail as effectively with the action as they might.

Also, the amount of fake blood becomes rather wearing.

Reasons to watch: Interesting premise

Reasons to avoid: Too much fake blood

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: Yes

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 4.5/10

Did you know? Under the Digital Economy Act 2017 the BBFC was appointed as the UK's regulator for pornographic websites. As regulator, the BBFC was intended to be responsible for identifying commercial pornographic websites accessible in the UK and empowered to take action against any which did not age-verify their users, including placing restrictions on their payment transactions or ordering their blocking by Internet service providers.

The final word. Prano Bailey-Bond: "They're unusual people, film censors. There are not that many of them in each country that do this job. It's very unique and niche. They're watching these films with both an objective and a subjective viewpoint. It's such a strange job to do, it really fascinates me and I really saw it as a way in to talking about our relationship with horror and the kind of things we watch in films." Screen Rant

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