Produced by Bristol sound co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged though undernourished first film casts a critical gaze on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Venal pillhead David (Marc Bessant) first robs an passed-out supplier, then in a later recollection tries to break into his own parents. In no time, he's overturned in the remains of his car in a woodland – and subject to the angry eye of the Poacher (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with no time for townies, he is a fractured society personified: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Grimly Amusing Duel
The film begins uncertainly, spending too long on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to free himself from his safety harness, while clumsily segueing into flashbacks of his everyday life. The central theme – that the ecstasy generation were primarily out for number one – is clearly conveyed. But these vignettes are insufficiently developed to properly prime us for what to expect when the Woodsman turns up, enraged after David kills his dog. Nevertheless, a darkly funny duel unfolds – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman withholding his jerrycan of scrumpy, intent on soaking him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, projecting ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Music Video Sensibility
Just a single key story turn, but it leads to a comically executed rampage 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 focused intently doing artful shots of bugs in headlights in the early stages, he now goes all out with the full lysergic grand display, accompanied by 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 follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into successfully graduating from the UK video industry.
The film releases in British and Irish theaters from 17 November.
