Helmed by Bristol sound co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged though undernourished debut feature casts a critical gaze on 90s rave culture. Self-serving drug user David (Marc Bessant) initially steals from an passed-out supplier, then in another flashback tries to burgle his own family home. In no time, he's upside down in the remains of his car in a woodland – and subject to the angry eye of the Poacher (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with impatience toward townies, he is a fractured society personified: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Grimly Amusing Confrontation
The film begins uncertainly, spending too long on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to free himself from his safety harness, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks of his everyday life. The central theme – that the ecstasy generation were mainly focused on number one – is firmly made. But these brief episodes are too thin to properly prime us for what to expect when the Poacher turns up, enraged after David strangles his dog. Nevertheless, a grimly amusing standoff unfolds – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman denying his container of cider, determined to soaking him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, exuding ponderous menace in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Promo-Inspired Sensibility
Just a single important plot development, but it results in a comically executed chaotic run on the woodland paths that veers toward folk horror. Director John Minton at last unleashes with his ostentatious visuals: where he was focused intently doing impressionistic closeups of bugs in headlights in the early stages, he now goes all out with the full psychedelic grand display, accompanied by a wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an extended promo than a fully fledged drama, but there’s enough bold visuals to suggest that Minton could emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into making the leap from the Brit music promo scene.
The film releases in UK and Irish theaters from November 17.
