Produced by Bristol sound co-founder the musician-producer, this scabrous if undernourished debut feature turns a sceptical eye on 90s rave culture. Self-serving pillhead David (Marc Bessant) initially steals from an passed-out supplier, then in another flashback tries to break into his own family home. In no time, he's upside down in the wreckage of his car in a forest – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Woodsman (vocalist Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with impatience toward city dwellers, he is a fractured society personified: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Grimly Amusing Confrontation
The film begins uncertainly, lingering excessively on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to extricate himself from his safety harness, while clumsily segueing into past scenes of his everyday life. The bigger point – that the rave-era youth were primarily out for themselves – is firmly made. But these brief episodes are too thin to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Poacher arrives, fuming after David kills his dog. Nevertheless, a darkly funny duel unfolds – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman withholding his jerrycan of cider, determined to soaking him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, projecting heavy threat in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Music Video Vibe
Just a single important plot development, but it leads to a comically executed rampage on the woodland paths that veers toward rural terror. Director John Minton finally gets to go all in with his showy imagery: where he was hunkered down 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 frenzied keyboard rendition of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an extended promo than a complete narrative, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into successfully graduating from the UK video industry.
Game is in UK and Irish cinemas from November 17.
