Helmed by Bristol sound co-founder the musician-producer, this scabrous if slight debut feature turns a sceptical eye on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Self-serving drug user David (Marc Bessant) first robs an unconscious dealer, then in another flashback 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 angry eye of the Woodsman (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with no time for townies, he is a fractured society personified: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”
Unsteady Opening and Grimly Amusing Duel
The film begins uncertainly, lingering excessively on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to extricate himself from his safety harness, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks of his normal activities. The central theme – that the ecstasy generation were primarily out for themselves – is clearly conveyed. But these vignettes are insufficiently developed to properly prime us for what to expect when the Poacher arrives, enraged after David kills his dog. Still, a darkly funny standoff takes hold – David desperate to escape; the Poacher withholding his jerrycan of cider, intent on soaking him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, exuding heavy threat in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Promo-Inspired Sensibility
There is only one key story turn, but it leads to a comically executed rampage on the forest trails 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 opening part, 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 complete narrative, but there’s enough bold visuals to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into successfully graduating from the Brit music promo scene.
Game releases in British and Irish theaters from November 17.
