Advertisement 1

Censor revisits the era of Britain's 'video nasties'

Niamh Algar plays a film censor with a troubled past in this slick new horror film

Article content

“Sequels are all the rage these days,” says a character in the disturbing new horror Censor, placing the action squarely in either the 19th, 20th or 21st century. But an image of Margaret Thatcher on the television narrows the time and place nicely. Britain. 1980s.

Advertisement 2
Story continues below
Article content

It was the era of “video nasties,” a peculiarly British term for a certain kind of low-budget horror schlock, distributed on VHS tapes, and the cause of much establishment hand-wringing about the state of the nation’s youth, entertainment options, etc.

Welsh filmmaker Prano Baily-Bond is probably far more aware of the politics of the time than I, even though she was only born in 1982. But you don’t really need to be versed in the finery of the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) or NVALA (the National Viewers’ and Listeners’ Association, don’t you know) to get drawn into this slick little number.

Article content

Enid is our way in. Played by Niamh Algar, she’s a film censor, watching hours of painfully violent content and recommending whether films be banned, given a pass, or edited into submission. There’s a lot of debate on that last point. “Heightened references take the edge off the more realistic violence,” says her colleague. She responds with a list of changes she’s made to a film, adding: “I trimmed the tiniest bit off the end of the genitals” with a gesture than makes him wince.

Advertisement 3
Story continues below
Article content

Film censorship will take its toll on anyone – heck, film criticism has its rough days. (Have you ever seen Little Italy?) But Enid has more on her plate than mere work. Years earlier, her sister disappeared and is now presumed dead by her parents, who just want to be able to move on.

But Enid can’t let go of the incident, and when a horror movie dropped off by a slimy producer (Michael Smiley) has a plot with similarities to real life, she starts to unravel. A subplot in which a murderer seems to have been inspired by a film that Enid recently OK’d for distribution merely adds to her woes.

Bailey-Bond nails the look and feel of the era, shooting on a variety of old stock, and with every interior seemingly lit by 40W bulbs. And Algar is great in the role of Enid – I can’t think of the last time I saw a character so obviously carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. Well, not since Hercules anyway.

The director has clearly been working on the ideas in this, her feature debut, for some time. Six years ago she delivered a 15-minute short, titled simply Nasty, with a similar plot. Censor runs a tight 83 minutes in comparison, and you know what? I wouldn’t cut a single frame.

Censor opens June 18 at Montreal’s Cinema Moderne, and on demand.

4 stars out of 5

Article content
Comments
You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.
Join the Conversation

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Latest National Stories
    News Near Tillsonburg
      This Week in Flyers