How to Survive: Censor (2021)

How to Survive is now on Patreon! Support us at Patreon.com/HowtoSurvivePod to get every episode one week early, plus monthly bonus episodes and more. 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).