MCBASTARD'S MAUSOLEUM: CENSOR (2021) (Second Sight Films Blu-ray Review)

CENSOR (2021)

Label: Second Sight Films

Rating: Cert. 18

Duration: 84 mins

Region: B

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.39:1) & (1.33:1)

Director: Prano Bailey-Bond

Cast: Niamh Algar, Michael Smiley, Nicholas Burns, Vincent Franklin, Sophia La Porta, Adrian Schiller

Set during the Video Nasty scare of the depressive Margaret Thatcher era 80's Britain the film Censor (2021), the feature-length directorial debut of Prano Bailey-Bonds, centers on a buttoned-down BBFC film censor named Enid (Niamh Algar, HBO's Raised by Wolves) whose job it is to watch violent films and make censor suggestions, protecting society at large from disturbing imagery that could have traumatic effect on viewers, censoring it before it can be released in it's full-strength versions.

We learn that Enid is subconsciously driven to censor violence by the deep-seated guilt she holds from a disturbing childhood trauma; the disappearance of her younger sibling Nina, who mysteriously disappeared while wandering the woods with Nina. It's been 20-odd years since her disappearance, but Enid still clings to the belief that she is still alive. Her parents however, looking for closure, have just had her declared her legally dead, which disturbs Enid. This coincides with her viewing a film at work, the low-budget gore flick Don't Go in the Church, directed by cult filmmaker Frederick North, that seems that seems to uncannily depict her memories of her sister's disappearance. The film consumes her as she goes down a rabbit hole, hoping to reveal the truth about her missing sisters by tracking down the film's sleazy producer (Michael Smalley, Kill List) in an effort find the films director (Adrian Schiller, HBO's Raised By Wolves), and then the film's star who seems to resemble her sister (Sophia La Porta, TV's The Five).

As Enid's pursuit of the story behind the making of Don't Go In The Church begins to unearth previously lost memories of her sister's disappearance her grip on reality begins to loosen. Now convinced that she needs to save the sister that her parent's and the authorities have given up on her life spirals out of control as she begins to commit acts of violence while losing her sanity unravels.

Censor starts off a tad slow, establishing Enid as a droll and buttoned-down film censor, with quite a few scenes of Enid sat in front of TV or movie screen watching a video nasties while meticulously taking down censorship notes. While it might take a bit to get going once her sanity begins to crack and she goes down the movie-obsession rabbit-hole things really get come to life, leading to a deliriously bloody and reality-divorced bit of axe-wielding carnage that happens on the set of a low-budget film. I loved the recreation and reappropriation of a few of the video nasties, the skewed perspective, and the changing aspect ratios to convey derangement, how the color-tone shifts; it also very well-shot and well-made, and it comes together gorgeously in my opinion. It's also quite playfully meta as the film censor becomes obsessed with a low-budget horror picture and commits acts of violence, plus we get the ambiguous backstory of her missing sister and how that fuels her derangement, it's terrific stuff and I highly recommend seeking this out. I cannot think of a previous film that uses the video nasty scare in such an interesting way, and it really uses it to great effect.

Audio/Video: Censor (2021) arrives on standard edition region-B locked Blu-ray from Second Sight Films in 1080p HD widescreen. The HD image is strong and nicely texturized, the reality bits of 80's Thatcher England looking grey and droll by design with the horror elements infusing garish colors and Argento-esque colored lighting, which translates nicely to HD, sourced from a largely shot on 35mm and 16m source. The aspect ratio changes from 2.39:1 to 1.33:1 to convey reality versus watching video nasties on VHS tape, and later changes to correspond to the unreality of the cracked-psyche of the protaganist, the VHS images of made-up video nasty titles being recreated to have that garish, smeary low-def look to it. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with pptional English subtitles. Dialogue is crisp and cleanly delivered, the sound design delivers a full-bodied mix, and the score from Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch is ratcheted up in the more tense and terror-filled moments punctuating the onscreen imagery with an appropriately tense score.

This is a two-disc set with the feature film and a few extras on the first disc and a second Blu-ray disc offering more extras. On the first disc we get three audio commentaries. First up is a brand New Audio Commentary by Director and Co-Writer Prano Bailey-Bond and Executive Producer Kim Newman, that is terrific. Getting Newman on any commentary is a jolly good time IMO, and then having Bailey-Bond discussing the making of the film, her love of horror, and getting to do it alongside Newman is just a good time. I have not gotten to the other commentaries yet, but we get a second Audio commentary by Prano Bailey-Bond, Director of Photography Annika Summerson, Editor Mar Towns and Sound Designer Tim Harrison, and a third Audio Commentary by Kat Ellinger, Lindsay Hallam and Miranda Corcoran. Also on the first disc is the 15-min Short Film Nasty (2015) directed by Prano Bailey-Bond that is a video nasty themed companion piece to the film, concerning a boy who comes across a video nasty video tape. It's a very cool and nicely stylized short that is worth checking out. We also get My Nasty Memories by David Gregory, which runs nearly a half-hour, featuring Severin Films head honcho Gregory sitting int front of what I can only assume is his private collection of video nasty VHS tapes while talking about growing up in the era of the video nasty in the UK. His enthusiasm for the discussion is quite evident throughout, proudly proclaiming that Severin have (probably) released more uncut video nasties than any other distributor, and talking about censorship and the thrill of hunting down bootleg uncut copies of the film. We also get the David Gregory produced two-part feature-length documentary Ban the Sadist Videos! (2005), which is a fascinating deep-dive into the video nasty era. The first disc is buttoned-up with the 22-min The Making of Censor featuring extensive interviews with the principle cast and crew.

Disc two is a dedicated special features disc, on it we get more extras, with over an hour and a half of Second Sight Films produced interview featurettes. These come by way of the 22-min My Own Nasty: a new interview with Prano Bailey-Bond, 13-min Penning a Nasty: a new interview with Co-Writer Anthony Fletcher, 22-min The Censor: a new interview with Actor Niamh Algar, 18-min Nasty Images: a new interview with Annika Summerson, 13-min I'm Cutting It: a new interview with Mark Towns, 11-min Nasty Sounds: a new interview with Composer Emilie Levienaise-Farrouci.

We also get a pair of Deleted Scenes that add-up to about 3-min, plus a new 22-min video essay Enid's Gaze: Alexandra Heller-Nicholas on Censor, a 14-min Screening Q&A with Prano Bailey-Bond and Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch hosted by Jed Shepherd, and finally the 40-min video conferencing piece featuring Prano Bailey-Bond in conversation with BBFC Compliance Officer David Hyman that seems fair play, we as horror fans have this idea of film censors at the BBFC being film-hating horror-haters, this sheds light on what these compliance officers at the BBFC are really like. It's an impressively stacked and deep-diving set of extras that explore both the video nasty panic and the making of this film. The standard edition arrives in a an oversized black keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the key artwork as well as the ugly BBFC rating logo on the front and back of the wrap. The two Blu-ray discs are housed with a flipper tray inside.

Special Features:

Disc One:

- Brand New audio commentary by Director and Co-Writer Prano Bailey-Bond and Executive Producer Kim Newman

- New audio commentary by Prano Bailey-Bond, Director of Photography Annika Summerson, Editor Mar Towns and Sound Designer Tim Harrison

- New audio commentary by Kat Ellinger, Lindsay Hallam and Miranda Corcoran

- My Nasty Memories by David Gregory (28 min)

- Ban the Sadist Videos! Part One (51 min) & Two (43 min) feature length documentary

- The Making of Censor featuring cast and crew interviews (22 min)

- Nasty: a short film by Prano Bailey-Bond (16 min)

Disc Two:

- My Own Nasty: a new interview with Prano Bailey-Bond (30 min)

- Penning a Nasty: a new interview with Co-Writer Anthony Fletcher (13 min)