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Produced by Bristol sound co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged though undernourished debut feature casts a critical gaze on 90s rave culture. Venal pillhead David (the actor) initially steals from an unconscious dealer, then in another flashback tries to break into 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 Woodsman (vocalist Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with impatience toward townies, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”

Unsteady Opening and Grimly Amusing Duel

The film begins uncertainly, spending too long on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to extricate himself from his safety harness, while awkwardly transitioning into past scenes of his everyday life. The bigger point – that the rave-era youth were primarily out for themselves – is clearly conveyed. But these vignettes are too thin to properly prime us for what to expect when the Poacher turns up, fuming after David kills his dog. Nevertheless, a grimly amusing standoff takes hold – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman denying his container of cider, determined to dousing him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, exuding ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.

Stylish Imagery and Promo-Inspired Vibe

There is only one important plot development, but it leads to a comically executed rampage on the woodland paths that dips close to folk horror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes with his showy imagery: where he was focused intently doing impressionistic closeups of bugs in headlights in the opening part, he now goes all out with the full lysergic 21-gun salute, accompanied by a wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. The movie resembles an elongated music video than a complete narrative, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into successfully graduating from the Brit music promo scene.

Game is in British and Irish theaters from 17 November.