Reviews

"...this is a film about broken people and their fractured path out of the darkness to a better, brighter future – and it cements Zaurin, who previously made Wyvern Hill (2021), as one of the most exciting voices working in British genre cinema today."

~ Projected Figures

"Following in the tradition of Mike Hodges, Shane Meadows and Ben Wheatley, Zaurin demonstrates a skill for digging just below the surface of England’s societal ills, exposing equal parts pain and redemption, all served up with a powerful cinematic vision."

~ Hereford Voice

"With its uncompromising scenario, this is a film a million miles away from the current wave of ‘cosy crime’, and it is aided by its striking cinematography (the film was shot by the director himself."

~ crimetime.co.uk

"Derelict is a bleak, nihilistic version of the revenge thriller, eschewing the subgenre’s more triumphalist beats in favour of something far more difficult and upsetting."

~ Starburst Magazine

"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. "

~ The Hollywood News

"It could almost be a post-apoclyptic vision – imagine a de-prettified Rumble Fish – but is actually a scrappy, realist work … deliberately paced (it takes two hours not to tell the expected story, with plenty of contemplative non sequiturs or rub-your-nose-in-it repetitions, vividly characterisations (its trio of evil bearded guys are just human sharks) and impressive, interior performances from linch-pins Fulton and Coombes."

~ The Kim Newman Web Site

"The poetry the film weaves between the two characters is sublime and bleakly beautiful, redolent of a Phillip Larkin piece (“Man hands down misery to man…”). "

~ gnofhorror.com

"Derelict is less about revenge and more about redemption in a chaotic world where bad things happen to good people."

~ The Movie Sleuth

"If you like your crime dramas bleak, grim and edgy, then Jonathan Zaurin’s Derelict might be just up your dark and dingy alley."

~ KultGuysKeep

"It’s an incredible piece of work, and Zaurin is clearly an incredible talent to watch out for."

~ Ginger Nuts of Horror

"Instead of offering us a plot-driven revenge story, Derelict morphs into a complex meditation on poverty, masculinity and being trapped by expectations. Guilt and redemption are also carefully explored here and the final minutes of Derelict are devastating, still haunting my mind."

~ Film Stories

"Revenge, when it comes, is as uncinematic as things get, but Zaurin manages to find redemption in the shreds of lives left in this ambitious and important film. Another success for a great UK filmmaker."

~ Bloody Flicks

"Derelict is an emotional powerhouse of a story."

~ Movie Reviews 101

FrightFest 2024 - Interview with Jonathan Zaurin

~ NYX TV