Game Review: Band Frontman Jason Williamson Takes On Character in Sceptical Look at 90s Rave Culture

Helmed by Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged though undernourished first film casts a critical gaze on 90s rave culture. Self-serving pillhead David (Marc Bessant) initially steals from an passed-out supplier, then in another flashback tries to break into his own parents. Before you can say, he's upside down in the remains of his car in a forest – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Poacher (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with no time for city dwellers, he is a fractured society personified: “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, lingering excessively on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to extricate himself from his seatbelt, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks of his everyday life. The bigger point – that the rave-era youth were mainly focused on number one – is clearly conveyed. But these brief episodes are insufficiently developed to properly prime us for what to expect when the Poacher arrives, enraged after David strangles his dog. Nevertheless, a grimly amusing standoff unfolds – David desperate to escape; the Poacher withholding his jerrycan of cider, intent on dousing him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, exuding heavy threat in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.

Stylish Imagery and Music Video Sensibility

Just a single key story turn, but it results in a comically executed rampage on the woodland paths that veers toward folk horror. Director John Minton at last unleashes with his ostentatious visuals: where he was focused intently doing artful shots of insects in the light in the early stages, he now goes all out with the full lysergic 21-gun salute, soundtracked to a wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an extended promo than a fully fledged drama, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into successfully graduating from the Brit music promo scene.

Game is in British and Irish cinemas from 17 November.