VOD from the Dead Review: DERELICTS (2020)
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Get the family together for a gory good time in DERELICTS
The word “derelict” has two meanings:
As a noun, it is defined as “a person without a home, job, or property.”
As an adjective, it is defined as “in a very poor condition as a result of disuse and neglect.”
Both definitions allude to the same description of a person(s) who society has left behind with little to survive off of. In the debut feature-length film DERELICTS, BRETT (B.C.) GLASSBERG weaves a tale of two types of derelicts; a more metaphorical one portrayed by a dysfunctional suburban family, and the other a more literal interpretation personified by a gang of sociopaths who terrorize the former...all under the umbrella of the Thanksgiving holiday
What’s it about?
DERELICTS tells the story of two families. One is a more traditional, yet quite dysfunctional, middle class family and the other is a family of textbook definition “derelicts” who nomadically travel around committing heinous crimes akin to the likes of ROB ZOMBIE’s “Firefly Family”. As the gang of sociopathic derelicts interrupts this dysfunctional family's already tumultuous Thanksgiving dinner, it becomes clear that in order for the family to survive they will need to fight back against this vicious gang of vagrants.
Leslie (DALTON ALLEN) and Bo (KARA MELLYN) are in this until death do they part
How is it?
There is a lot to enjoy about DERELICTS, and if you fancy yourself a connoisseur of films such as TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE series and ROB ZOMBIE’s brand of hillbilly horror you will definitely find a lot to enjoy here. In fact, you might even find yourself wondering if you’re watching an homage to those films as they share a lot in common. One of the great delights of this movie is that it wastes absolutely zero time getting down to business, as within 15 minutes the proverbial shit hits the fan.
And it’s precisely when the shit hits said fan where DERELICTS shines. The scenes where the violence gets cranked up ten notches are certainly the highlights of the film. A few scenes in particular involving fingers, turkey legs, and electric carving knives spark a lot of joy for this horror fan and are impressive testaments to the possibilities of lower-budget filmmaking. I give a lot of credit to BRETT (B.C.) GLASSBERG and the editing team here for keeping the action pretty consistent, and the run time at just the right length to keep this viewers attention and the narrative moving. While there is a bit of a lull in the 2nd act, it’s largely forgivable since the film is already a brisk 73 minutes and it picks up quite nicely in the 3rd act.
All of this said, the film is far from perfect. You may (or may not) have noticed that I mentioned this film takes place during Thanksgiving, and that small fact is almost completely inconsequential despite a few gags. It also represents what I find to be the biggest thorn in this film's side; it tries to do a lot and loses focus often. There are a total of 13 characters involved in this film, some of them having next to no role to play except a few gags (like the oversexed Grandparents). The same is said of the gang of vagrants. There are five of them and yet we really only get familiar with about 3 of them. Therein lies the lack of focus. By having so many characters, many of whom do not add much to the story, it makes the whole film feel like it’s missing something.
DERELICTS also dances around themes of marginalization (which fall extremely flat since it’s hard to empathize with a sociopath) and a family that is visibly dysfunctional, but also entirely void of any charisma. What would have helped this some is if the acting would have been just a touch better, particularly the family unit. There is a point where one of the family members gets killed and the rest are being held hostage, and not a single tear, whimper, or sign of distress can be seen or heard and it makes the whole scene lose some of it’s punch.
DERELICTS takes the meaning of finger foods a little too seriously
The Last Word
While the acting leaves something to be desired, the film is a better-than-average addition to the home invasion / hillbilly horror genre. This won’t make anyone’s Top 10 list, but it is well worth the watch for some really great gore gags with a refreshingly breezy runtime!
3 / 5 Turkey Legs
The Gory Details
Directed by:
Written by:
Produced by:
Starring
KELLY DEALYN (Constance)
DAVID LEE HESS (Gregg)
EMILY AMMON (Barbara)
DALTON ALLEN (Leslie)
STEVE UZZELL (Frank)
LANA DIETRICH (Bev)
LES BEST (Cap)
SAM PLEASANT (Forrest)
CLAY SHIRLEY (Sal/Writer)
KARA MELLYN (Bo)
MARCELA LOUISE (Morgan)
ANDRE EVRENOS (Turk/Writer)
PAT TURNER (Paul)
Runtime
Approx. 73 minutes
Trailer
When and where can you watch it?
"DERELICTS" will premiere on the Kings of Horror channel Friday,November 13thwhich will include a live chat with the filmmakers and some of the cast. The film will remain on the channel for a 6-week exclusive window before hitting multiple digital platforms beginning Christmas Day.
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