Produced by Bristol sound co-founder Geoff Barrow, this scabrous if slight debut feature turns a sceptical eye 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 parents. Before you can say, he's upside down in the wreckage of his car in a forest – and subject to the angry eye of the Poacher (vocalist Jason Williamson). Refusing to extricate David, with impatience toward city dwellers, he is a fractured society embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Darkly Funny Duel
The film begins uncertainly, lingering excessively on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to extricate himself from his safety harness, while awkwardly transitioning into flashbacks of his normal activities. The bigger point – that the ecstasy generation were mainly focused on number one – is clearly conveyed. But these brief episodes are insufficiently developed to properly prime us for what to expect when the Woodsman turns up, fuming after David strangles his dog. Still, a darkly funny standoff unfolds – David desperate to escape; the Woodsman denying his container of scrumpy, intent on soaking him instead in resentful talk. Williamson, exuding ponderous menace in the role, is evocative of Michael Smiley.
Stylish Imagery and Music Video Sensibility
Just a single key story turn, but it results in a hilariously staged chaotic run on the woodland paths that dips close to folk horror. Filmmaker John Minton finally gets to go all in with his showy imagery: where he was hunkered down doing impressionistic closeups of bugs in headlights in the opening part, he now lets rip with the full lysergic grand display, 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 bold visuals to suggest that Minton could follow Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings et al into making the leap from the Brit music promo scene.
The film releases in UK and Irish cinemas from November 17.
