Produced by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged if slight debut feature casts a critical gaze on 90s rave culture. Self-serving drug user David (Marc Bessant) first robs an unconscious dealer, then in a later recollection tries to break into his own family home. In no time, he's overturned in the wreckage of his car in a forest – and subject to the angry eye of the Woodsman (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with impatience toward city dwellers, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Darkly Funny Duel
The film begins uncertainly, spending too long on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to extricate himself from his safety harness, while awkwardly transitioning into past scenes of his everyday life. The central theme – that the rave-era youth were mainly focused on number one – is clearly conveyed. But these vignettes are too thin to properly prime us for what to expect when the Poacher arrives, enraged after David kills his dog. Nevertheless, a darkly funny duel takes hold – David desperate to escape; the Poacher withholding his jerrycan of scrumpy, determined to soaking him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, projecting heavy threat in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Music Video Vibe
Just a single key story turn, but it leads to a hilariously staged 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 artful shots of bugs in headlights in the opening part, he now lets rip with the full lysergic 21-gun salute, 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.
Game releases in British and Irish theaters from 17 November.
