Helmed by Bristol sound co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous though undernourished first film casts a critical gaze on 90s rave culture. Venal pillhead David (the actor) first robs an passed-out supplier, then in another flashback tries to burgle his own family home. Before you can say, he's overturned in the wreckage of his car in a forest – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Poacher (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with impatience toward townies, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Darkly Funny Duel
Game gets off to a shaky start, spending too long on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to free himself from his safety harness, while clumsily segueing into past scenes of his everyday life. The central theme – that the rave-era youth were mainly focused on themselves – is clearly conveyed. But these brief episodes are too thin to properly prime us for what to expect when the Woodsman turns up, enraged after David kills his dog. Nevertheless, a grimly amusing duel takes hold – David desperate to escape; the Poacher withholding his jerrycan of cider, intent on soaking him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, exuding ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Music Video Vibe
Just a single important plot development, but it results in a comically executed rampage on the forest trails that veers toward folk horror. Filmmaker John Minton finally gets to go all in with his showy imagery: 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 21-gun salute, accompanied by a wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. The movie resembles an elongated music video than a complete narrative, but there’s enough bold visuals to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into successfully graduating from the Brit music promo scene.
The film releases in UK and Irish cinemas from 17 November.
