Overlook Film Festival 2024 – Set in the 1980s with a grainy aesthetic that matches the time period, Dead Mail is an unnerving feature that combines several genres. At times, it feels like a slasher, especially in its second half. At other moments, it has the qualities of a true crime documentary, or even found footage. It’s also a movie about obsession and extremes with one heck of an opening.

Written and directed by Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaghy, the film begins with a bound man crawling towards a familiar blue mailbox, delivering a letter in hopes it’ll end up in the right hands and someone will save him from his captor. Eventually, we learn the man is an engineer named Josh (Sterling Macer Jr.), who was kidnapped by the very creepy and unnerving Trent (John Fleck). The two first meet at a music conference. Trent is a keyboard enthusiast and that’s Josh’s specialty. He soon agrees to build the perfect keyboard for Trent, and for both men, this becomes an unhealthy obsession. Trent purchases everything Josh desires for the creation, but the relationship eventually, well, sours.

Josh’s plea for help ends up before a dead letter investigator, Jasper (Tomas Boykin). The beginning of the film plays out like a detective film, with Jasper obsessing over the letter, in hopes of finding its author and saving him. He’s eventually assisted by Bess (Susan Priver) and Ann (Micki Jackson), who work at the local post office and also have a stake in solving the crime, for reasons that become clear past the halfway point. This film doesn’t have a linear narrative, but the plot threads eventually all makes sense. It’s non-traditional structure, however, adds to the effect of making a viewer feel uneasy during the runtime.

DeBoer and McConaghy managed to capture the look and the feel of the 1980s, too, not only because of the 16 mm aesthetic the film has, but also the costume choices, the setting and locations, and even the frequent use of keyboards and synths in the sound design. Even the opening credits have the look of an early 1980s computer with the green text. In that regard, this film calls to mind the recent Love Lies Bleeding, also set in the 80s, or even Skinamarink, for its use of analog media to create a disorienting effect. That said, it’s not quite clear why the directors chose this time period. This movie would have worked in the present day. Maybe the directors simply grew up during this time period and have memories and a fondness for such media. Analog horror is becoming its own subgenre.

Dead Mail’s execution works quite well, creating an eerie experience for a viewer through its use of 1980s aesthetics and a non-traditional narrative. Often, this film feels like a late-night true crime show with some slasher elements tossed into the mix. It makes for a captivating and frightening experience.

7 Out of 10