Derelict follows Abigail, who is mourning her father's violent murder and nursing hopes of revenge, while two estranged brothers, Matt and ex-con Ewan, attempt reconnection after a prison release. The production reportedly cost as little as £35k and was filmed on location in Herefordshire, and that limited budget is often visible in the finished work. Several sequences that read well on the page feel unconvincing on screen, and some performances vary in plausibility. Suzanne Fulton and Michael Coombes deliver standout, emotionally grounded performances. The film feels like a labour of love in need of a tighter edit and is released digitally from 1 September.
Derelict is self-evidently a low-budget affair it reportedly took as little as 35k to film on location in Herefordshire, and that lack of resource can't always be concealed. There are also a fair few instances of sequences that presumably felt realistic on the page but strike a false note on the screen: for example, it will never be convincing to have one actor stand still while yelling come back! as another actor walks away from them. It might sound pedantic but it's the kind of thing that gives a telenovela feel to a film aiming for gritty realism.
Meanwhile, two very different brothers navigate reconnection after one is released from prison: Matt (Michael Coombes), the younger brother, is a shy, soft kind of guy, while ex-con Ewan (Pete Bird) is confident and cocky and seemingly determined to head straight back down the kind of path that led to him getting banged up in the first place. Only this time, perhaps he'll drag his little brother along for the ride.
As Abigail, Fulton paints a portrait of a woman who has shut down almost completely, while still giving us enough to go on that we stay with the character's pain. And Coombes, as younger brother Matt, brings a soulful authenticity to a layered and original role.
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