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 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 upside down in the wreckage of his car in a woodland – and subject to the angry eye of the Poacher (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with no time for city dwellers, he is a fractured society personified: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Darkly Funny Duel
Game gets off to a shaky start, lingering excessively on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to free himself from his safety harness, while clumsily segueing into past scenes of his everyday life. The bigger point – that the rave-era youth were mainly focused on number one – is firmly made. But these brief episodes are insufficiently developed to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Poacher turns up, enraged after David kills his dog. Nevertheless, a grimly amusing duel unfolds – David eager to get away; the Woodsman withholding his jerrycan of scrumpy, intent on soaking him instead in embittered discourse. 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 results in a comically executed chaotic run on the forest trails that dips close to folk horror. Filmmaker John Minton finally gets to go all in with his showy imagery: where he was focused intently doing impressionistic closeups of insects in the light in the opening part, he now goes all out with the full psychedelic grand display, soundtracked to a wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an extended promo than a fully fledged drama, but there’s enough bold visuals to suggest that Minton could emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into successfully graduating from the UK video industry.
Game releases in British and Irish cinemas from November 17.
