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Produced by Portishead co-founder the musician-producer, this scabrous if undernourished first film casts a critical gaze on 90s rave culture. Venal pillhead David (Marc Bessant) 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 forest – and subject to the angry eye of the Woodsman (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with impatience toward city dwellers, he is broken Britain personified: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.”

Unsteady Opening and Grimly Amusing Confrontation

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 normal activities. The bigger point – that the rave-era youth were mainly focused on themselves – is firmly made. But these brief episodes are too thin to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Woodsman arrives, enraged after David kills his dog. Still, a grimly amusing standoff takes hold – David eager to get away; the Woodsman withholding his jerrycan of cider, intent on soaking him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, projecting heavy threat in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.

Visual Flair and Music Video Sensibility

Just a single important plot development, but it leads to a hilariously staged chaotic run on the woodland paths that dips close to folk horror. Director John Minton at last unleashes with his ostentatious visuals: where he was hunkered down doing impressionistic closeups of insects in the light in the opening part, he now lets rip with the full lysergic grand display, soundtracked to a frenzied keyboard rendition 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 follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into making the leap from the Brit music promo scene.

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