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Produced by Bristol sound co-founder Geoff Barrow, this sharp-edged though undernourished debut feature turns a sceptical eye on 90s rave culture. Self-serving drug user David (the actor) initially steals from 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 wreckage of his car in a woodland – and subject to the angry eye of the Poacher (vocalist Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with no time for townies, 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

Game gets off to a shaky start, lingering excessively on pedantically chronicling David’s attempt to extricate himself from his safety harness, while awkwardly transitioning into past scenes of his normal activities. The bigger point – that the ecstasy generation were primarily out for themselves – is firmly made. But these vignettes are insufficiently developed 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 desperate to escape; the Woodsman withholding his jerrycan of scrumpy, intent on soaking 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 important plot development, but it results in a hilariously staged chaotic run on the forest trails that dips close to rural terror. Filmmaker John Minton finally gets to go all in with his ostentatious visuals: where he was hunkered down doing artful shots of insects in the light in the opening part, he now lets rip with the full psychedelic 21-gun salute, soundtracked to a wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. The movie resembles an extended promo than a fully fledged drama, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into successfully graduating from the UK video industry.

Game releases in UK and Irish cinemas from November 17.