There’re directors who go things alone and then there’re directors who operate with someone else as a team. You’ve got the Coen brothers (Miller’s Crossing), the Wachowskis (The Matrix trilogy), the Russo brothers (several MCU films), the Farrelly brothers (Dumb and Dumber), the Daniels (Swiss Army Man; Everything Everywhere All at Once), and Kyle McConaghy and Joe DeBoer, whose most recent work, the feature film Dead Mail, is having its world premiere at SXSW 2024. Their’s is a tale of woe wrapped in thriller encased in a late ‘70s/early ‘80s era. Featuring a small ensemble of talent, Dead Mail promises to deliver unease right on time, come snow, rain, heat, or gloom.
Sterling Macer as Josh Ivey in DEAD MAIL. Photo Credit: Dead Mail LLC. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
On a quiet road in Illinois, acres from the nearest neighbor, a man with hands and feet bound crawls from the front door of a home to a nearby USPS mailbox and slides a bloodied paper into the trap. With the information on the paper incomplete, it ends up in the hands of dead letter investigator Jasper (Tomas Boykin), who starts to unravel whether the paper is a prank or a true threat to someone’s person. What Jasper doesn’t realize is how his life and the lives of those he knows will immeasurably change due to his choice to seek the truth, wherever it leads.
John Fleck as Trent in the horror film, DEAD MAIL. Photo courtesy of Dead Mail LLC.
The ‘80s are often described as a period of excess: bright colors, bulky clothes, big riches, and drugs — lots of drugs. Another way to view that time is an era of desire, where folks sought to fill some part of themselves however they could. The narrative, written by DeBoer and McDonaghy (BAB), is driven almost entirely by desire. Jasper is someone who desires to make things right for others, to make them whole via reuniting them with packages that failed to reach their destination. As the tale plays out and we learn about the kidnapped man, Josh (Sterling Macer Jr.), and the person behind the abduction, Trent (John Fleck), and their own desires, how they converge and separate, come to light. Now, we can’t get into the specific there as it would spoil much of the tension in the film, but suffice it to say that there’re many ways to read into the term “desire,” and DeBoer and McDonaghy flirt with all of them in these three characters and several more. What we want, what we long for, can make us do things that we wouldn’t ordinarily dare, instilling bravery in the face of uncertain danger and seemingly insurmountable conditions or bringing out the worst versions of ourselves out of fear and self-loathing. Dead Mail’s pursuit of desire results in a fascinating exploration of character, bringing about extended tension and horror.
As a reviewer with a softer constitution, allow me to define “horror” in this instance to better prepare those not to dissimilar to me. On the scale of Bloody Oranges (2021) to Army of Darkness (1992), Dead Mail’s depiction of violence is more akin to Get Out (2017) in the sense that violence is either heavily implied or seen directly, but rarely engages in anything too graphic to cause more than a wince. Rather, the tension comes from the mental challenges the characters face and whether or not they’ve be able to overcome them. As we see in the start, Josh is able to get free long enough to get a message out, thereby setting off a chain of events that may or may not result in his freedom. We don’t know why Josh is chained and we know little about Trent at the start, so a question hangs over the film regarding their identities, whether or not there is a prior relationship and, if so, how it relates to their current situation. Not to mention the tension of can Josh get free or can Trent keep him imprisoned. This alongside the intersection of Jasper creates a narrative whose tension often remains in the back of our minds, the questions keeping us locked in even as the film fills in the gaps, inching us ever closer to the final moments where all answers are revealed. Or it comes from the editing handled by McConaghy, who uses cuts to create energy and momentum in something as simple as making a phone call or inserting additional uncertainty as audience perspective is shifted to multiple places within the same moment so as to place us on the edge of our seat with knowledge only we and the character on-screen knows. Satisfaction is never guaranteed in a film like this, but it will arrive on time.
It’s also worth noting that the time setting of the film, while not specifically noted, is smartly presented on screen in the costumes and production design, but also in the cinematography. The first two come down to a precise style and look, aided by locations whose nature evoke the era. One can’t help but look around Jasper’s post office and notice the datedness of it, denoting a building that’s been around for some time and has seen things as packages and letters pass through it, the varying shades of brown that make up this under-funded government facility that also convey comfort to those customers who walk in to make use of it. Boykin (3 from Hell) as Jasper moves around these halls like a secret agent, entrusted with uncovering the world’s secrets as a means of returning a lost necklace to its own. Due to the visible age of the place, in concert with Boykin’s performance, the post office is transformed into a central intelligence hub, a monitor whose security must be out-thought to be taken advantage of, yet — again, due to the time period — is easily defeated through simply planning and patience. Then there’s the cinematography which utilizes heavy grain over each frame, absent the clarity of today’s mostly shot on digital cleanliness for a visage implying age and distance (us now versus them then). This added element makes all that happens feel uniquely separate from us, as though we’re observing a time capsule, despite it being so obviously current. This does, however, help convince the audience that what we’re watching may be based in truth, so, take heed and make sure to stay through the credits.
Based on the title and opening alone, one might presume Dead Mail to be an edge-of-your-seat thriller when it’s more of a character-based slow burn mystery. Violence may be what raises the first question to pique your interest, but it’s the performances, the relationships, and how it’s all connected that keeps you locked in. This is perhaps why Dead Mail is having its world premiere in the “Visions” section of SXSW, the place where “[a]udacious, risk-taking artists who demonstrate innovation and creativity” have their films placed. Dead Mail is a risk, to a degree, for how it operates unexpectedly within the confines of horror/thriller, but it’s the way it delivers that makes it memorable and deserving of exploration.
Screening during SXSW 2024.
Available on Shudder April 18th, 2025.
For more information, head either to the official Dead Mail SXSW webpage or film website.
Final Score: 4 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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