🔗 Share this article Film Analysis: Band Frontman Jason Williamson Assumes Character in Critical Look at 90s Rave Culture The work of Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged though undernourished first film turns a sceptical eye on 90s rave culture. Self-serving drug user David (the actor) initially steals from an unconscious dealer, then in a later recollection tries to break into his own parents. Before you can say, he's upside down in the wreckage of his car in a forest – and subject to the wrathful eye of the Poacher (Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with impatience toward city dwellers, he is broken Britain embodied: “You’re one of those loud individuals from up on the heath.” A Shaky Start and Darkly Funny Duel Game gets off to a shaky start, spending too long on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to free himself from his safety harness, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks of his normal activities. The central theme – that the rave-era youth were primarily out for themselves – is firmly made. But these vignettes are too thin to properly prime us for what to expect when the Woodsman turns up, enraged after David kills his dog. Still, a grimly amusing duel unfolds – David eager to get away; the Woodsman withholding his jerrycan of scrumpy, intent on dousing him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, projecting ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley. Visual Flair and Music Video Sensibility Just a single key story turn, but it results in a hilariously staged chaotic run on the forest trails that dips close to rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes with his showy imagery: where he was hunkered down doing impressionistic closeups of bugs in headlights in the early stages, he now lets rip with the full lysergic 21-gun salute, accompanied by a wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. Game feels more like an elongated music video than a complete narrative, but there’s enough bold visuals to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into successfully graduating from the UK video industry. Game releases in British and Irish theaters from 17 November.