Film Analysis: Sleaford Mods' Jason Williamson Takes On Role in Critical Look at 90s Rave Culture

Produced by Bristol sound co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous though undernourished debut feature casts a critical gaze on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Self-serving pillhead David (Marc Bessant) first robs an passed-out supplier, then in another flashback tries to burgle his own family home. 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 Woodsman (vocalist Jason Williamson). Declining to free David, with no time for city dwellers, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”

A Shaky Start and Grimly Amusing Confrontation

The film begins uncertainly, lingering excessively on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to free himself from his seatbelt, while clumsily segueing into past scenes of his normal activities. The central theme – that the rave-era youth were mainly focused on themselves – is firmly made. But these brief episodes are insufficiently developed to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Woodsman turns up, enraged after David kills his dog. Still, a darkly funny duel unfolds – David eager to get away; the Woodsman denying his container of cider, determined to dousing him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, exuding ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.

Stylish Imagery and Music Video Vibe

Just a single key story turn, but it leads to a hilariously staged rampage on the forest trails that veers toward folk horror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes with his showy imagery: where he was hunkered down doing artful shots of insects in the light in the early stages, 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 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 UK video industry.

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