Helmed by Bristol sound co-founder the musician-producer, this sharp-edged if undernourished debut feature casts a critical gaze on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Self-serving drug user David (the actor) 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 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 Darkly Funny Confrontation
The film begins uncertainly, lingering excessively on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to extricate himself from his safety harness, while clumsily segueing into past scenes of his normal activities. The bigger point – that the rave-era youth were primarily out for 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 kills his dog. Nevertheless, a grimly amusing standoff takes hold – David eager to get away; the Poacher withholding his jerrycan of cider, intent on soaking him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, exuding heavy threat in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Music Video Vibe
There is only one key story turn, but it leads to a hilariously staged rampage on the forest trails that dips close to folk horror. Filmmaker John Minton finally gets to go all in with his ostentatious visuals: where he was focused intently doing impressionistic closeups of insects in the light in the opening part, he now lets rip with the full lysergic grand display, accompanied by a wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. The movie resembles an extended promo than a fully fledged drama, but there’s enough bold visuals to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into successfully graduating from the Brit music promo scene.
The film releases in British and Irish cinemas from November 17.
