Examiner

The master tapes of movies are usually Blu-ray discs with extremely high picture quality. Nowadays, lossless formats uploaded to cloud servers are also used. After the master tapes are submitted for review, the Film Bureau will issue Dragon Seal for screening. Only then can the movie be released in theaters.

The film and television censorship standards in this world are very broad. Horror, gore, and violence are not strictly censored. Apart from some special and sensitive topics, other content can be said to be very diverse.

Mo Guangyuan, who works at the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, has a simple and unpretentious job: reviewing films.

Some students might think that reviewing films is great because it allows them to watch movies that haven't been released yet, making watching movies feel like work—easy and relaxing.

But in reality, when a hobby becomes a job, it can sometimes be truly torture.

First of all, a huge number of films are submitted for review every year, since the audience for theatrical releases is much larger, and many people who don't use the internet much only watch movies in theaters.

Secondly, obtaining the Dragon Seal puts a film on a higher social hierarchy, making it more prestigious than online films that can only be shown on video websites. Furthermore, it can be streamed on websites afterward, allowing the film to generate further revenue.

Finally, the barrier to entry for making movies is too low now. At the very least, you can spend a few hundred thousand yuan, find some film school students, and make a movie in three to five days.

This resulted in far more films entering the Film Bureau's review department than the general public saw.

Watching a good movie is a pleasure; watching a bad movie is torture.

The key point is that Mo Guangyuan can't fast forward!

Leaving aside those well-made movies, the worse the movie, the more likely it is to have problems with details, such as shooting things that shouldn't be shot or showing scenes that shouldn't be shown. These are all things that the censors need to check.

Therefore, when faced with bad movies, he not only cannot fast forward, but sometimes he has to slow down and watch them carefully.

What's more, he's not the only one reviewing the films. Most of them are randomly assigned. If he's unlucky, he might watch a whole month of poorly made, rural romantic comedies, with storylines where only he feels sorry for Giegie, and none of them are the same.

It's torture.

When Mo Guangyuan first entered the industry, he was excited and interested in being able to watch those movies in advance, and even often took the initiative to work overtime to review the films.

Now, he leaves work on time and never works overtime. When he's off work, Mo Guangyuan is too lazy to even go to the movies; he just wants to lie in bed and waste his life.

Life smoothed out his rough edges.

This story teaches us that when a hobby becomes a profession, it's not always a good thing.

He worked normally until the afternoon, then watched a melodramatic urban romance drama where the female lead looked almost exactly like the husky downstairs. He suffered both mental and physical torment.

After reading the ending and writing down his review comments, Mo Guangyuan picked up his thermos, which contained goji berry and red date tea, unscrewed the lid, blew on it gently, and took a small sip.

He's still a year away from turning thirty, but he's already started taking care of his health.

After chatting with his colleagues for a few minutes, Mo Guangyuan checked the time.

"It's almost time to get off work. Let's just find a movie and watch the beginning."

With half an hour left before the end of the workday, it's not a long time, but it's not a short time either. It's not convenient to slack off in the office for half an hour at this time, as it would be bad if the boss saw it. Mo Guangyuan usually just picks a movie that looks like it won't get Dragon Seal, watches the first half hour, pauses, and then watches the rest the next day.

Anyway, they're all movies that are dispensable, so there's no need to worry about the plot. You can just pause and rewatch them, and you can easily pick them up again!

With a flick of the mouse, Mo Guangyuan saw a folder.

The Mouth of the Madman.

"It looks familiar."

Mo Guangyuan felt the name was familiar, and when he clicked on the information, he saw that it was a work by a director named Lu Ban.

After checking, Mo Guangyuan discovered that this was the director and lead actor of the box office champion film at the end of last year.

"That's impressive."

Mo Guangyuan said without any reaction.

To be honest, for him now, making movies is just work.

Happiness has been lost.

This story teaches us that sometimes you might not actually like your hobbies.

Ordinary people work hard, but after get off work they can still play games and watch movies to relax.

However, if your job involves playing games or watching movies, then playing games or watching movies after get off work becomes an extension of your work, and you can easily lose interest. As a result, you lose the way to relieve fatigue, become increasingly depressed, and eventually explode.

Of course, there are certainly people in the world who really enjoy their work and continue to enjoy it even after work, but Mo Guangyuan is, after all, just an ordinary person.

No matter how high the box office is, he won't get a single penny. For him, good movies and bad movies are just part of the work of filling out review comments after watching them. Mo Guangyuan hasn't truly enjoyed a movie in a long time.

"Take a look."

With this in mind, Mo Guangyuan clicked play.

After the usual opening credits, Mo Guangyuan saw a burly man holding a gun, stumbling forward in a dark alley, as if being chased by something.

The camera mimics his perspective, sometimes looking back, sometimes looking to the side. Although it only pans across, it still makes it clear that something seems to be wriggling in those shadows.

In just a few short shots, Mo Guangyuan was completely captivated.

He stopped using the pen he was holding to record the review comments and focused intently on the screen.

The tension on the screen was almost palpable; the person's eyes were bloodshot, as if they hadn't slept for days, and they were muttering incoherent words, which only added to the eeriness.

What is chasing him?

Mo Guangyuan was somewhat curious.

The camera often lingers behind the man, but there are only dark and dirty alleys there. The moonlight shines down, but instead of bringing light, it makes the shadows even more intense.

Mo Guangyuan felt as if he had returned to his childhood. Once, when he went back to his hometown, he played with some peers until late at night. He walked home alone in the dark. There were no streetlights in the countryside back then, and it was pitch black. You could even hear your own heartbeat. In that dark night, Mo Guangyuan walked home with a heart full of fear. For a long time afterward, he didn't dare to turn off the lights to sleep.

This pure darkness, the fear in a claustrophobic, confined space, originates from instinct.

Snap—

As the man fled in panic, a hand suddenly pressed down on his shoulder.

Mo Guangyuan was slightly startled by this sudden change, and his body trembled.

Fortunately, the man holding his shoulder was another man. They looked like gangsters from the 1920s or 30s, and they all had guns.

Is something chasing you?

The man who appeared later asked the question warily.

"Those things, those things, are in the shadows."

The first man to appear explained in a hoarse voice, then suddenly stopped.

In the shot, on the man who appears later, in the shadows of his clothes, some kind of writhing monster seems about to emerge.

Thump thump thump—

The first man to appear immediately opened fire, attempting to kill the monsters.

Gunshots shattered the silence of the night and made the already subdued film noisy.

Startled by the gunshot, Mo Guangyuan twitched his shoulders again.

"That's why I hate censoring horror movies, so I like to mess with you like this."

Muttering to himself, he glanced to the side to distract himself.

But suddenly I noticed something wriggling in the shadows in the corner of the table!