Censor (2021) & The Host (2006)

A pretty fantastic feature film debut from Prano Bailey-Bond, who also co-wrote the screenplay.

This one had a strong 'What if Perfect Blue, but with 80's slasher horror' vibe going for me. Partially because they set it in the UK during the height of the Video Nasties era, which in itself is an interesting focal point. The story follows Enid, a censor who reviews and edits/bans horror films for the British Board of Film Classification. While reviewing a film, it triggers latent memories connected with here sister that disappeared when they were children. Combined with other stressors relating to her job, Enid's sense of reality and control start to crumble and things get ugly.

Speaking of ugly, the combination of the time period and the city just helps to make everything she experiences feel more and more terrible. Everything from Enid's work offices to the streets and video stores she wanders around all feel perfectly grimy and claustrophobic.

Toss in some great edits and lighting design that that boosts the sense of reality becoming unraveled and you have a pretty engaging and brisk 84 minute film. It doesn't overstay it's welcome, and leaves you wanting more while feeling pretty icky (in a good creepy horror film way).

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I ended up doing a double feature night with this and Snowpiercer, and since it's been so long since I've seen either film I never realized that Song Kang-ho and Go Ah-sung played a father and daughter pair in both of them. That's not like a big deal, but just a neat little 'ah-ha' moment I had now that we're so many years removed from their releases.

Anywho, the Host is great. If you've never watched this but have seen Bong Joon Ho's Parasite (also starring Song Kang-ho), definitely give it a go. It's less a creature feature horror film and more of a dark family dramadey. It has plenty of creature material though, especially since they don't hide the monster at all and drop it in right at the start in full daylight.

And you can say the CG doesn't look great, but look it was 2006 and they weren't going to cheap out with obscuring it in darkness (and I think it looks fine until the fire sequence). Plus, it's a fun design and I do love that its creators at WETA and Bong Joon Ho said that Steve Buscemi (specifically his role in Fargo) were a reference point.

I absolutely love the family dynamics and performances throughout. It also has plenty of the themes we've seen in Bong's other works, so there's plenty of tidbits dealing with social inequality, environmental concerns, government abuse, and so on. But it's the strong focus on the family and the human condition stuff that centers the film, and it shines whenever it brings the core cast together.

Do yourself a favor and work through some Bong films, and like I said pairing this with Snowpiercer was a fun back to back that made for a good movie night.