Dead Mail

This 2024 Shudder original called Dead Mail, with a rather interesting-looking poster and a decently intriguing plot synopsis on IMDb, was shot in slightly faded color with grainy visuals, really giving it those 80s retro vibes. Sadly, that's about the only thing this movie does to make itself entertaining or stand out from most other releases nowadays. It's a style choice that can work and mostly does in this film but the narrative needs to be more than a rather dull kidnapping story like the one we get here.

We follow different characters after an ominous help note finds its way into a post office. The movie presents various perspectives; from the victim, the abuser, and other side characters while also incorporating a few time jumps, which are easy enough to follow. And even though the story has some interesting elements and brings a bit of uniqueness to the table, it's overall really dull. It reminded me a bit of 2021's Censor, which had similar problems in my opinion, though it featured stronger pacing and a more engaging narrative.

In this film, I kept finding myself bored and unable to immerse myself in the story or connect with the character arcs. The acting from the main cast is pretty solid, and there's definitely talent involved both in front of and behind the camera. The movie features several scenes that feel unnecessarily drawn out, seemingly only to show off some aesthetically pleasing visuals. That being said, this is definitely a slow burn, and people who don't enjoy that kind of horror should stay away from this one.

If you're a fan of slow-burn horror, this might be worth a watch. However, I personally didn't find anything particularly compelling here and will probably forget about this movie soon. [4.9/10]

"Dead Mail" was actually a better film than I'd expected, and for that it gets points. It starts off with a very interesting scene of a bloody, chained man crawling to a mailbox to toss in a blood stained scrap of paper, and then stopped and pulled back into a house by a panicked kidnapper. It then switches to the post office, where a man named Jasper is a miracle worker when it comes to locating the people for whom dead mail was intended to go. Jasper-in spite of living in a halfway house-seems to have a Russian agent contact who he gets information from as well as other people who are capable of bringing up detailed facts and figures. I used to work for a company where my job was to try and locate lost equipment we'd rented out and it was fun and interesting, but I wish I'd had Jasper's contact list.

So at this point I'm assuming the movie is going to be about Jasper finding the man at the beginning before he gets killed. Instead, it switches to the story of how the man was kidnapped and why and the continuation of that story without Jasper. That's where I became much less interested. I liked Jasper and I wanted to know his story, not the kidnapped guy's story.

That disappointment notwithstanding, it still was a reasonably interesting film, with decent cinematography and performances. But the kidnapper's weirdness was only good enough for numerous "WTF??" moments, and I really didn't feel much for the victim. The only one I was emotionally attached to was-you guesses it-Jasper, and he had a very short story arc. And the ending was rather unfulfilling, and didn't clarify what happened to the postal worker who went to the house and got caught. Ultimately it was an okay film that had promise, but took a wrong turn.

Dead Mail (2024): Another Neo-Noir thriller which trespasses on horror territory. Shot in grainy slightly faded colour it gives us the feel of it's 1980's setting. Though the actors play their roles straight, a Coenesque line of humour runs through the film, just about strong enough to leaven the dark horror and violence which also permeates Dead Mail. Jasper (Tomas Boykin) is a dead mail agent, he can track down correct addresses from arcane pieces of information, checking with the weather bureau or if all else fails an overseas hacker friend. Coming across a blood stained scrap of paper supposedly from a kidnapped man Jasper gets cracking. We already know from the opening scene that the "letter" is genuine. The kidnapper breaks into the post office and attacks Jasper. We then flashback to how the kidnapper met up with his victim. A tale of compering synthesizer designers. Unrequited love and a touch of Killing for Company as the kidnapper does have a Dennis Nilsen vibe about him. The dark comedy of the film is what sets it apart from more mundane thrillers along with taut direction and a clever script which makes all the twists and turns make sense. You'll gasp, laugh and maybe cry but I reckon in the end you'll agree that this is a good Noir/Psychological Horror movie. Directed and Written by Kyle McConaghy and Joe DeBoer. 8/10.

I recently watched Dead Mail (2024) on Shudder. The story centers on a mysterious piece of mail with no address that arrives at a small-town post office for investigation. A strange man soon shows up, determined to retrieve the letter-by any means necessary. The plot then rewinds, tracing the origins of the message and revealing why it's so important to him.

Co-written and co-directed by Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaghy-who previously collaborated on Bab-the film stars Sterling Macer Jr. (Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story), John Fleck (Waterworld), Micki Jackson (Drumline: A New Beat), and Tomas Boykin (The Munsters).

I really enjoyed watching this concept unfold. The premise felt fresh, and the cinematography had a gritty, grindhouse quality at times. The acting was excellent, with strong and authentic performances throughout. The villain is particularly well-crafted-menacing and manipulative in just the right ways. The violence is sharp, sudden, and suits the characters' motivations. In some ways, it reminded me of The Gift.

Overall, Dead Mail is a solid addition to the horror genre, with enough originality to keep you engaged. I'd rate it a 6.5-7/10 and recommend checking it out at least once.

I get that people want to give this flick medium ratings because it is very much a niche indie film that isn't for everyone. But I think objectively as a horror fan Dead Mail deserves props for various elements, ranging from the grainy realistic 1980s atmosphere (and weirdly accurate details like those big buckets of cheap Neapolitan ice cream) to the truly original plot points about sound engineering in the late 20th century and nerdy info on how cool and sleuthlike dead mail was prior to the world wide web.

I also think that the writers/director did their research on serial killers such as Richard Ramirez frequenting a low-income shelter for men during his murder spree, and Jeff Dahmer with his predilection for victimizing poor black males that he justified with his disturbed inability to form healthy gay relationships.