Director-cinematographer Jonathan Zaurin weaves two sides of a violent crime to explore trauma and grief in his compelling 2024 revenge thriller, Derelict.

It’s a confident film that explores the effects of one brutal crime from two sides. One half follows two dissimilar brothers as they build up to a murder and then suffer the consequences. The other tracks the painful journey of the victim’s grief-ridden daughter, whose frustrated attempts to find peace force her to take things into her own hands.

Abigail (Suzanne Fulton) is the daughter whose life has unravelled since losing her father. Estranged from her sister, things come to a head when the younger brother involved in her father’s murder is released from prison. As the justice system fails to provide any peace, she soon discovers that revenge is a path full of further pain and suffering.

While the majority of Abigail’s story takes place in the aftermath of the crime, we mostly encounter the younger brother, Matt (Michael Coombe), in the lead-up. When his older brother Ewan (a chilling turn by Pete Bird) returns home, his promises to their bedridden mother that he’ll look after Matt soon evaporate; Ewan drags Matt into an abusive underworld, culminating in a deadly attempt to steal money from an old friend.

Those halves, or sides, of Derelict are further divided up. Zaurin jumps between the two time periods, splitting them into chapters (named after the characters or their actions), and also switching from colour to monochrome to highlight the characters’ emotional distress. The effect could be destabilising or confusing, but it’s hugely effective in demonstrating the characters’ anguish amid the brutality.

You’d expect an experienced cinematographer like Zaurin to deliver a stunning-looking film, and Derelict does just that, serving up memorable images and devastatingly lit scenes that reinforce the stark drama. There aren’t any winners in a film determined to show the devastating consequences of how crime impacts both sides.

But for all the swinging lights and mirrored shots that add layers to a simple tale, one thing really hits home: the protagonists, both victims of the crime, only meet at two emotionally charged moments. Both are haunted: Fulton is steel and suppressed rage as she embarks on her path of retribution—the only one she feels she’s left with—but the brutality and abuse that comes with it shows in the scars and a bandage over one eye she carries for half the film. Opposite her, Coombes’ sensitive Matt is easy to empathise with, first unwittingly dragged into crime by his overbearing and intense brother, then emerging broken, but with a quiet resolve Ewan could never have.

Derelict isn’t short, but despite being just over two hours, it doesn’t feel overlong. Zaurin draws quality from an evidently low budget, especially in the powerful, gut-punching performances of his leads, to keep things engrossing. The opening, with home videos showing better times for Abigail and her family, doesn’t suggest the emotional wallop of the impressively well-constructed scenes to come. In all, it’s a stark and memorable study in trauma and grief that sticks.