Helmed by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged if slight first film 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 parents. In no time, he's overturned in the wreckage of his car in a forest – and subject to the angry eye of the Poacher (vocalist Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with no time for townies, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Grimly Amusing Confrontation
The film begins uncertainly, spending too long on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to free himself from his seatbelt, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks of his everyday life. The central theme – that the rave-era youth were mainly focused on themselves – is firmly made. But these brief episodes are too thin to properly prime us for what to expect when the Woodsman arrives, enraged after David strangles his dog. Still, a grimly amusing standoff unfolds – David eager to get away; the Woodsman denying his container of cider, intent on soaking him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, projecting heavy threat in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Music Video Sensibility
There is only one key story turn, but it results in a comically executed chaotic run on the woodland paths that dips close to folk horror. Director John Minton at last unleashes with his ostentatious visuals: where he was hunkered down doing impressionistic closeups of bugs in headlights in the opening part, he now lets rip with the full psychedelic grand display, accompanied by a frenzied keyboard rendition of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an extended promo than a fully fledged drama, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into successfully graduating from the Brit music promo scene.
The film is in British and Irish cinemas from 17 November.
