How to Survive: Censor (2021)

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It’s episode 296…and you’d be surprised what the human brain can edit out when it can't handle the truth.

Censor (2021) follows Enid, a censor at the BBFC during the moral panic around ‘Video Nasties’ - a 1980s proliferation of graphic horror movies flooding the new frontier of VHS home entertainment. Enid acts as a kind of moral guardian, exposing herself to these films so the wider public don’t have to, but when one film unearths her past trauma, Enid begins a spiral that will lead her to some very real horror.

We discuss a slightly muddled treatise on trauma and media influence, praise the immaculate vibes of 1980s film logos, question the security setup of low-budget film shoots and wonder whether stunt weapons are a necessity, or simply health and safety gone mad.

All of which leads to one question: How would you survive?

Whatever happens, one thing's for sure: Horror is already out there, in all of us. It's in you.

Next time, we begin ‘Better Body Horror’ season with Rose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding (2023).