Note: Derelict was reviewed from a preview screener before its 2024 festival run.
On the surface, Derelict (2024) presents itself as a revenge story with all the requisite elements: a wrongful death, a family torn apart, and the failure of the justice system to dole out the appropriate punishment. The film opens with a visual tour of a crime scene that has yet to be discovered, a bound dead man lying facedown in a dirty alley, still fresh enough to look like he has decided to lay down for an impromptu nap. This is a snapshot of a murder, and it is spliced together with happy home videos and memories from his former life as a husband and a father. A vibrant man has been reduced to a body discarded in the dirt.
Ten years have passed, and the victim's adult daughter, Abigail (Suzanne Fulton), is a shell of her former self. She stands listlessly at a windowsill smoking a cigarette while a lover from the night before tries to converse with her over a cup of coffee. Later, she sits at the edge of her bed, going through her voicemail as friends and family desperately try to get ahold of her. These scenes are shot in black-and-white, perhaps to emphasize her one-track mindset, which is to avenge her father's death. In revenge movie fashion, one of the killers is set to be released from prison and Abigail would like to use this opportunity to collect a blood fee.
Abigail is only one piece of the narrative, however, as it occasionally shifts to Matt (Michael Coombs), a young man who lives with his sick elderly mother. Matt is soft-spoken and unassuming, frequently hanging around with a nonbinary friend, taking edibles, and roaming the streets. Though it is not directly confirmed Matt might be gay, there are hints in the way he interacts with others. His older brother, Ewan (Pete Bird), is fresh out of prison, having learned nothing, and is back to his normal nefarious activities.
Ewan is the poster boy for toxic masculinity, full of bravado and testosterone. Perhaps it colors the perception of Matt by association; as in, Matt might not actually be gay, but since he doesn't adhere to the strict tenets of hypermasculinity, he is perceived as such by both the audience and the characters in the story. He is somewhat spineless when it comes to standing up to his brother, even if he sees him hurting those who are weaker than him.
As Abigail's and Matt's paths start to intertwine it becomes obvious that they are two sides of the same coin, both trapped by their stations in life. Abigail is trapped by being a woman, as she isn't taken seriously by others and endures a massive amount of disrespect and, eventually, sexual abuse. Matt is trapped by his economic status and class, forced to participate in survival of the fittest, and unable to muster up enough courage to take a stand for himself. They wander an urban wasteland in parallel, trying to navigate the dangers, but ultimately cannot help each other.
Derelict is less about revenge and more about redemption in a chaotic world where bad things happen to good people. It's grounded and realistic, highlighting the grey area of morality that comprises most of humanity. Sometimes, the best thing one can do is to let it go.
--Michelle Kisner