The work of Bristol sound co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous if undernourished first film casts a critical gaze on 90s rave culture. Self-serving pillhead David (the actor) first robs an passed-out supplier, then in another flashback tries to burgle his own parents. In no time, he's upside down in the remains of his car in a woodland – and subject to the angry eye of the Poacher (vocalist Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with impatience toward townies, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Grimly Amusing Confrontation
Game gets off to a shaky start, spending too long on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to free himself from his seatbelt, while awkwardly transitioning into past scenes of his everyday life. The central theme – that the ecstasy generation were mainly focused on number one – is firmly made. But these brief episodes are too thin to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Woodsman turns up, enraged after David strangles his dog. Still, a darkly funny standoff takes hold – David eager to get away; the Woodsman denying his container of scrumpy, determined to soaking him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, exuding ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Promo-Inspired Sensibility
There is only one important plot development, but it leads to a hilariously staged chaotic run on the forest trails that veers toward folk horror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes with his ostentatious visuals: where he was focused intently 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 wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an extended promo than a complete narrative, but there’s enough bold visuals to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into making the leap from the UK video industry.
Game releases in British and Irish theaters from November 17.
