Produced by Bristol sound co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous though slight debut feature turns a sceptical eye on 90s rave culture. Self-serving pillhead David (Marc Bessant) 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 remains of his car in a forest – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Woodsman (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with no time for city dwellers, 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
The film begins uncertainly, spending too long on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to extricate himself from his seatbelt, while clumsily segueing into past scenes of his everyday life. The central theme – that the rave-era youth were primarily out for number one – is firmly made. But these brief episodes are too thin to adequately prepare 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 Woodsman denying his container of cider, determined to dousing him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, exuding heavy threat in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Music Video Sensibility
Just a single important plot development, but it leads to a hilariously staged chaotic run on the forest trails that dips close to folk horror. Filmmaker John Minton finally gets to go all in with his ostentatious visuals: where he was hunkered down doing artful shots of bugs in headlights in the early stages, he now goes all out with the full psychedelic grand display, soundtracked to a wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an elongated music video than a fully fledged drama, but there’s enough bold visuals to suggest that Minton could emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into successfully graduating from the UK video industry.
Game releases in UK and Irish theaters from November 17.
