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The work of Portishead co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous if slight 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 a later recollection tries to break into his own parents. In no time, he's upside down in the wreckage of his car in a woodland – and subject to the angry eye of the Woodsman (vocalist Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with no time for city dwellers, he is broken Britain embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”

Unsteady Opening and Grimly Amusing Duel

Game gets off to a shaky start, spending too long on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to free 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 themselves – is firmly made. But these brief episodes are insufficiently developed to adequately prepare us for what to expect when the Poacher arrives, enraged after David kills his dog. Nevertheless, a darkly funny duel takes hold – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman withholding his jerrycan of cider, determined to dousing him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, projecting heavy threat in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.

Stylish Imagery and Music Video Vibe

Just a single key story turn, but it leads to a comically executed chaotic run on the forest trails that veers toward rural terror. Director John Minton at last unleashes with his showy imagery: where he was focused intently doing impressionistic closeups of insects in the light in the opening part, he now lets rip with the full psychedelic 21-gun salute, accompanied by a frenzied keyboard rendition of Ravel’s Boléro. The movie resembles an elongated music video than a fully fledged drama, but there’s enough bold visuals to suggest that Minton could emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into making the leap from the Brit music promo scene.

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