Produced by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous if undernourished debut feature casts a critical gaze on 90s rave culture. Venal drug user David (Marc Bessant) initially steals from an unconscious dealer, then in another flashback tries to burgle his own family home. In no time, he's overturned in the remains of his car in a forest – and subject to the angry eye of the Woodsman (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with impatience toward city dwellers, 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, lingering excessively on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to extricate himself from his safety harness, while awkwardly transitioning into past scenes of his everyday life. The central theme – that the rave-era youth were mainly focused on themselves – is clearly conveyed. But these brief episodes are insufficiently developed to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Woodsman turns up, fuming after David kills his dog. Nevertheless, a grimly amusing duel takes hold – David eager to get away; the Poacher denying his container of cider, intent on dousing him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, exuding ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Music Video Sensibility
There is only one important plot development, but it results in a comically executed rampage on the woodland paths that dips close to folk horror. Filmmaker John Minton finally gets to go all in with his showy imagery: where he was hunkered down doing artful shots of bugs in headlights in the opening part, he now goes all out with the full lysergic grand display, accompanied by a frenzied keyboard rendition 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 17 November.
