Produced by Bristol sound co-founder the musician-producer, this sharp-edged though undernourished first film casts a critical gaze on 90s rave culture. Venal drug user David (Marc Bessant) first robs an passed-out supplier, then in another flashback tries to burgle his own family home. Before you can say, he's overturned in the wreckage of his car in a forest – and subject to the angry eye of the Woodsman (vocalist Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with no time for townies, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Darkly Funny Duel
The film begins uncertainly, spending too long on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to extricate himself from his seatbelt, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks 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 insufficiently developed to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Woodsman turns up, enraged after David kills his dog. Still, a grimly amusing duel takes hold – David eager to get away; the Woodsman denying his container of scrumpy, determined to dousing him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, projecting heavy threat in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Music Video Vibe
Just a single key story turn, but it leads to a comically executed chaotic run on the woodland paths that veers toward rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes with his showy imagery: where he was focused intently doing artful shots of insects in the light in the opening part, he now lets rip with the full lysergic 21-gun salute, accompanied by a frenzied keyboard rendition of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an elongated music video than a complete narrative, but there’s enough bold visuals to suggest that Minton could emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into making the leap from the UK video industry.
Game releases in UK and Irish cinemas from 17 November.
