🔗 Share this article

Produced by Bristol sound co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged if slight first film turns a sceptical eye on 90s rave culture. Self-serving pillhead David (Marc Bessant) initially steals from an passed-out supplier, then in another flashback tries to burgle his own parents. In no time, he's overturned in the wreckage of his car in a woodland – and subject to the angry eye of the Woodsman (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 Duel

Game gets off to a shaky start, spending too long on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to extricate himself from his safety harness, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks of his everyday life. The central theme – that the ecstasy generation were primarily out for themselves – 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. Still, a grimly amusing standoff unfolds – David eager to get away; the Poacher withholding his jerrycan of cider, intent on dousing him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, exuding ponderous menace in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.

Stylish Imagery and Promo-Inspired Sensibility

There is only one important plot development, but it leads to a hilariously staged chaotic run on the woodland paths that veers toward folk horror. Filmmaker John Minton finally gets to go all in with his showy imagery: where he was hunkered down doing artful shots of insects in the light in the opening part, he now lets rip with the full psychedelic grand display, accompanied by 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 et al into successfully graduating from the Brit music promo scene.

The film releases in UK and Irish cinemas from November 17.