The work of Bristol sound co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous if undernourished first film turns a sceptical eye on 90s rave culture. Self-serving pillhead David (Marc Bessant) first robs an passed-out supplier, then in a later recollection tries to burgle his own parents. Before you can say, he's upside down in the wreckage of his car in a woodland – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Woodsman (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with impatience toward townies, he is a fractured society personified: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Grimly Amusing Confrontation
Game gets off to a shaky start, lingering excessively on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to free himself from his seatbelt, while awkwardly transitioning into past scenes of his normal activities. The bigger point – that the rave-era youth were mainly focused on number one – is firmly made. But these vignettes are too thin to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Poacher arrives, enraged after David kills his dog. Still, a grimly amusing standoff takes hold – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman withholding his jerrycan of scrumpy, determined to soaking him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, exuding heavy threat 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 hilariously staged chaotic run on the woodland paths that veers toward rural terror. Director John Minton at last unleashes 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 psychedelic grand display, accompanied by a frenzied keyboard rendition of Ravel’s Boléro. The movie resembles an elongated music video than a complete narrative, but there’s enough bold visuals to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into successfully graduating from the UK video industry.
Game releases in UK and Irish theaters from November 17.
