Helmed by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous though slight first film casts a critical gaze on 90s rave culture. Venal drug user David (Marc Bessant) initially steals from an unconscious dealer, then in a later recollection 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 Poacher (vocalist Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with no time for city dwellers, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Darkly Funny Duel
The film begins uncertainly, spending too long on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to extricate himself from his safety harness, while clumsily segueing into flashbacks of his normal activities. The bigger point – that the rave-era youth were primarily out for number one – is firmly made. But these vignettes are insufficiently developed to properly prime us for what to expect when the Poacher turns up, enraged after David kills his dog. Nevertheless, a grimly amusing duel takes hold – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman withholding his jerrycan of scrumpy, intent on soaking him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, exuding heavy threat in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Music Video Vibe
Just a single important plot development, but it results in a comically executed rampage on the forest trails that dips close to folk horror. Director 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 psychedelic grand display, soundtracked to a wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. The movie resembles an extended promo than a fully fledged drama, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into making the leap from the Brit music promo scene.
Game releases in British and Irish theaters from November 17.
