Produced by Bristol sound co-founder the musician-producer, this scabrous though slight debut feature casts a critical gaze on the ecstasy-fueled club scene. Self-serving pillhead David (the actor) first robs an passed-out supplier, then in another flashback tries to burgle his own parents. In no time, he's overturned in the wreckage of his car in a woodland – 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 broken Britain embodied: “You’re one of those noisy cunts from up on the heath.”
A Shaky Start and Darkly Funny Duel
The film begins uncertainly, spending too long on meticulously detailing David’s attempt to free himself from his safety harness, while awkwardly transitioning into past scenes of his everyday life. 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 Poacher arrives, enraged after David kills his dog. Still, a grimly amusing standoff unfolds – David desperate to escape; the Poacher denying his container of scrumpy, intent on dousing him instead in embittered discourse. Williamson, exuding ponderous menace in the role, is reminiscent of Michael Smiley.
Visual Flair and Music Video Sensibility
Just a single key story turn, but it leads to a comically executed chaotic run on the forest trails that veers toward folk horror. Filmmaker John Minton at last unleashes with his showy imagery: where he was hunkered down doing impressionistic closeups of bugs in headlights in the opening part, he now goes all out with the full psychedelic grand display, accompanied by a wild organ version of Ravel’s Boléro. The movie resembles an extended promo than a complete narrative, but there’s enough strident imagery to suggest that Minton could emulate Jonathan Glazer, Garth Jennings and others into making the leap from the UK video industry.
The film is in British and Irish theaters from November 17.
