In 'Censor,' writer-director Prano Bailey-Bond makes a bold artistic statement inspired by the history of horror, especially 1980s straight-to-VHS.
In her daring feature debut “Censor,” writer-director Prano Bailey-Bond crafts a multilayered and meta piece of filmmaking that uses cheapie exploitation films, or “video nasties” as they were dubbed in the early 1980s in Britain, as a vehicle to explore the ways in which humans process trauma, violence, memory and collective moral panic.
Cowritten with Anthony Fletcher, “Censor” follows Enid , a young woman who works at the censor board in England, screening gory straight-to-video horror flicks and debating with her colleagues how many eye-gougings, maimings and other bodily injuries and intimate debasements are suitable for public consumption.
What troubles Enid most isn’t any of these events but a trauma from far in her past that rears its head at exactly the wrong time. As a child, her sister disappeared and when her parents seek to finally file a death certificate, Enid’s guilt and fears return with a vengeance. Her paranoia and anxiety are informed by her own work, processing the imagery of violence against women day in and day out.
Collaborating with cinematographer Annika Summerson, Bailey-Bond utilizes familiar horror aesthetics, contrasting Enid’s drab and foreboding office atmosphere with more colorful, giallo-inspired choices as the film progresses. Gorgeous, moody lighting bathes the subjects in reds, pinks, cool blues and sickly greens, rendering the mundane horrific and the horrific melodramatic. TV static and shifting aspect ratios serve as transitional tools, trapping us within the square limits of a VHS format.
“Censor” is a bold artistic statement, inspired by the history of its own genre, though it’s not an uncritical assertion, posing complicated questions about media effects without offering easy answers. If there’s a criticism to levy, it’s that at a certain point it ascends to such emotionally and visually operatic heights there’s nowhere else to go; you wonder for a moment if Bailey-Bond has “lost the plot” as it were.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
'Loki' review: Tom Hiddleston is back in role he was born to playOur reviewer Peter Travers says: 'Fun is back in the MCU and you won't want to miss it.'
Read more »
‘Loki’ Review: A Good Start To A Possibly Great MCU SeriesThe first two episodes blend time-travel hijinks and lively existentialism for a very promising start to this latest Disney+ MCU series.
Read more »
Biden reverses Trump’s effort to ban TikTok, orders broader review of foreign-owned appsJUST IN: Pres. Biden signs executive order revoking Trump-era order aimed at banning TikTok. Biden's order calls for broad review of foreign-owned apps and directs officials to provide reports on the risk apps pose to personal data and national security.
Read more »
Ex-judge who oversaw review of Michael Cohen's electronics to do same for Rudy Giuliani caseBarbara Jones was appointed as 'special master' by U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken, and will ensure attorney-client privilege is protected during the investigation into electronic devices owned by ex-President Donald Trump's former personal attorney after FBI raids in late April.
Read more »
SEC Pursuing Broad Review of Stock Market Structure, Chairman SaysThe SEC is pursuing a broad review of how stocks are traded and priced, including incentives to attract orders, Chairman Gary Gensler said
Read more »
Biden administration reverses Trump ban on TikTok, WeChat; will review potential security risksThe Commerce Department will conduct its own 'evidence-based' analysis of the apps to assess any national security risks related to user data collection or to Chinese military or intelligence activities.
Read more »