Dead Mail
Dead Mail
Sometimes, when I am idly daydreaming, I get flashes about what becomes of letters displaced within the postal service. It appears strange to lose mail, especially in my young spirited mind, the system of post worked smoothly and there were no chances of missing letters or parcels. It seems that my co-writer and co-director, Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaghy, have been living in my head, particularly with regard to their latest film Dead Mail, which puts forth a solution to the incessant question of mine on what happens to letters and other parcels that are sent out. And that answer is the quite literal word ‘blood’ which is amusing and surrounded with lovely 1980s styled interiors.
A man with a limp makes it to the mail box and manages to pull out a desperate letter covered in his own blood when he gets snatched by a shadowy figure. These events are set against the backdrop of a postal office in which two employees are sorting undelivered mail and changing the delivery details. With the unsent letter still fresh in their minds, they take the paper fragments to Jasper’s office (Tomas Boykin), the lord of returned letters.
He actively looks for the intended recipient of the letter by reaching out to one of his secret contacts for guidance on possible locations. While such actions may seem tedious in nature, the filmic style and structure create a solid atmosphere that tricks one’s mind into believing there is so much at risk.
Dead Mail, then, turns into something that isn’t quite expected as it connects with a sad man named Trent (John Fleck) and Josh (Sterling Macer Jr.), a man who works on analog synthesizers. It’s an unusual story that again deals with ordinary aspects of life, but such as it is, thanks to DeBoer and McConaghy’s directing style, the narrative feels much more thrilling and dangerous than it is. Their timing takes an uncomplicated violent suspense thriller and makes a very interesting jigsaw puzzle to unfold. It’s disorienting but entertaining at the same time, making you anticipate the next odd sequence to emerge from around the corner.
Fleck and Macer, Jr. independently act out as the film’s pivot couple, as Fleck engages into orbit around Macer as if he were a beacon, a purpose and a reason to get up every day. There is a striking juxtaposition inside these characters in the portrayal that creates Fleck as someone who is just seeking companionship who fails to understand boundaries of friendship.
Josh, on the other hand, portrayed by Macer, is an intolerably unaware of his surroundings lightning rod where being a nerd is the cruelest irony of his existence. These are two personalities that most of us are familiar with, and yet in this instance, they are pushed to the extreme to recall how terrible being alone can be – dark humour and poignantly comedic.
When McConaghy was asked to describe Dead Mail during a Dread Central interview with the directors he called it ‘a bland Midwest film’. His description is spot on. Granted, it does sound a bit derogatory, it does embody the ethos of this film as it wants to capture a specific 1980s ennui that permeated even the suburbs of the Midwest. Everything feels effortless, but with efforts comes unpredictability that can lead to violence.
For DeBoer and McConaghy there’s a commitment to that 80s vibe on a budget. They take in a grainy digital look courtesy of Payton Jane’s production design. As mentioned, this is not a film that looks at the past with rose colored glasses. Rather, DeBoer and McConaghy are once again submerging themselves into that ennui and existential anxiety of the faceless working class. The colors of the wood paneling and the floral wallpapers are purposely faded and resemble antiques more than cherished souvenirs of a previous age.
To elaborate would ruin the experience of Dead Mail, which I can assure you is worth getting into. DeBoer and McConaghy take contemporary takes on the 1980s and reminiscence – and construct a neofargo with them that is lay about being in the wrong place at the wrong time depicted with small town violence and the efforts of a person who is simply in search of a companionship. However, the authors have a strong script and the acting is so well nuanced, what could be quite simply silliness becomes a strangely melancholic and horrific work of cinema that is adjacent to the genre. It is lo-fi indie filmmaking in its best form, kooky, wacky, and engrossing.
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- Genre: Crime, Drama, horror, Thriller
- Country: United States
- Director: Joe DeBoer, Kyle McConaghy
- Cast: Sterling Macer Jr., John Fleck, Tomas Boykin