There is a common misconception that Pigeon Shrine FrightFest is a festival purely for horror films. Those that have never attended hear the name and assume that it is a film festival packed to bursting with slasher films, zombies, and gore. Whilst this is true of some of the line-up, the genre festival extends itself to include all films that fit in with their decree of the ‘dark heart of cinema’. This opens the door for weird science fiction movies, psychological thrillers, and in the case of Jonathan Zaurin’s Derelict, darkly toned crime stories.
Told across several sections and conflicting characters, Derelict explores the aftermath of a heinous crime. It first joins Abigail (Suzanne Fulton), a young woman who has been broken by the death of her father. Although years have passed, Abigail is still stuck in that moment of loss. She remains untouched by the world around her and is determined to punish those that have caused her pain. Rather than stay with Abigail, Derelict opens up to tell the story of the perpetrators. As both sides of the story play out, side-by-side across time, the viewer is placed in an uncomfortable position of potentially feeling sympathy for the devil.
The use of colour in Derelict is especially strong. Whereas most films opt to use black and white to highlight events of the past,, and colour for the present, Derelict spins that on its head. Scenes from before are shot in glorious colour whilst the present is trapped in a monochrome nightmare. The decision highlights just how dead inside Abigail has become. Her life has become devoid of all its vibrancy, the black and white colour scale representing her inner numbness. The title also refers to Abigail’s emotional state as she has become hollow and ‘derelict’ of anything outside of her drive for revenge. These are but two layers that Zaudin provides for the audience to delve into, with plenty more available for those that want to go digging.
Abigail is an incredibly complex character. The lengths that she goes to in order to achieve her goal are extreme. She has no consideration for her own safety, only that she must put the wrong things right. This laser focus could turn Abigail into a John Wick or Eric Draven style vigilante, but Suzanne Fulton keeps her grounded. Fulton fuels Abigail with desperation rather than rage, and does excellent work at portraying Abigail’s detachment from everyone around her. For the role, Fulton has to access some dark areas of the mind, but manages to convey them without becoming lost in them. No matter how far Abigail goes, the viewer is provided with just a slight enough glimpse of her former self that they don’t write her off as purely one noted.
On the opposite side of the story, Zaudin tells a similarly complex tale of the relationship between two brothers, Matt (Michael Coombes) and Ewan (Pete Bird). After serving time, Ewan is released from prison and immediately disrupts the life of his gentler younger brother. Matt finds himself slowly coerced into a life of crime, and suddenly it’s hard to see him as simply the villain as opposed to another victim. The tension between the brothers is almost suffocating, so much so that it becomes almost a relief when the attention switches back to Abigail.
What makes the crime portions of Derelict so compelling is that for the most part they are very low stakes crimes. This is not a masterminded criminal enterprise with which Ewan is affiliated. Much of the gang’s misdemeanours revolve around intimidating the locals and taking drugs. It’s a more authentic version of crime, the Hereford location offering something more complex than the usual hoodies on a London estate. By transplanting the story to a more rural setting, situations within Derelict become more relatable to a wider range of the British public. The group congregating in an underpass, taunting those who pass by, will be a horribly familiar scenario from people all across the United Kingdom. In making these scenarios more relatable, Derelict becomes a more intense viewing nightmare.
The one slight issue with Derelict is that during the second half the story starts to meander. Shifting from clear chapter breaks, a revisit to the original crime is told via timestamps, a la 24. The constant updating of the time drags events out and in doing so makes it almost as much of an ordeal for the viewer as the characters involved. Whilst the intention is clear, the execution could perhaps be slightly better, but when compared against the rest of Derelict, does little to hamper the viewer’s enjoyment. Although not everyone’s idea of a FrightFest film, Derelict more than earns its palace alongside its peers. Derelict’s dark heart is evident almost immediately and its fusion of films such as Bull, Dead Man’s Shoes and American History X make it a compelling crime thriller that is hard to tear oneself away from.
Derelict
Summary
Reminiscent of films such as American History X, Dead Man’s Shoes and Bull, Derelict will satiate the appetite for those who enjoy a gritty crime based story that they can really sink their teeth into.
Derelict was reviewed at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest 2024.
