Produced by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous though undernourished debut feature turns a sceptical eye on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Self-serving pillhead David (the actor) initially steals from an passed-out supplier, then in another flashback tries to burgle his own family home. In no time, he's upside down in the remains of his car in a forest – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Woodsman (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with impatience toward city dwellers, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Darkly Funny Confrontation
The film begins uncertainly, lingering excessively on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to free himself from his safety harness, while clumsily segueing into flashbacks of his everyday life. The bigger point – 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 eager to get away; the Poacher denying his container of scrumpy, intent on dousing him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, projecting heavy threat in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Promo-Inspired Sensibility
Just a single key story turn, but it leads to a hilariously staged chaotic run on the woodland paths that veers toward folk horror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes with his ostentatious visuals: where he was hunkered down doing impressionistic closeups of insects in the light in the early stages, he now lets rip 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 fully fledged drama, 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.
The film releases in UK and Irish cinemas from November 17.
