As I said, there are times when I am day dreaming, for example, wondering where all the lost mail goes. I have always considered it to be strange mail could be missing, growing up int he idealistic world where a postal service existed and they never lost a thing. It appears co-writers and co-directors Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaughy have for some reason decided to shoot this film based on my last question. Their new film Dead Mail opens up with exactly what I wanted to know where do the letters go when they die. And the answer to that question is, perhaps, a bit morbid, surprisingly blood, and has amazing background design inspired by the 1980s.
The film begins with a man near death who manages to crawl to a metallic postbox, desperately pleading for help while writing a bloody note on a piece of paper. A mask wearing aggressor reaches out to grab him from behind. A quick cut transition and we see two women in a county post office sorting the mail removing improvised tags with corrected addresses. One of the recipients of the bloody letter is Savior (Tomas Boykin), a dead mail specialist. He takes it upon himself to reach out to a network contact looking for possible recipients of the letter. The work is often monotonous but the way it is edited and paced, it feels as if it is a thrilling movie with enormous consequences.
At that point, however, Dead Mail becomes quite burglar with several twists and turns that quite poorly connect the letter to a lonesome man Trent (John Fleck) and Joshua, the engineer of the synthesizer (Sterling Mace Jr.). It is a strange story that once again moves around the simpler elements of existence but is here made to feel as dangerous because of the direction and orientation by DeBoer & McConaughy. Their rhythm takes a simple crime faced narrative and gives it an interesting puzzle for the audience to piece. It is confusing, yet maintains the audience’s attention as everyone is curious about the next outrageous occurrence that is about to appear.
The central duo comprising Fleck and Mace, Jr. are dashing, with the former distance around the latter whom he sees as the hope, a purpose to look forward and wake up each day. As Fleck portrays a man hopelessly looking for a friend while assuming the cherished position of a friend without knowing how to keep him. Josh is played by Mace who is dull witted to an extreme, being the very embodiment of a geek who knows so much about one thing that everything else is lost in the shadow of their obsession. Many of us might well know these two personas, but in this film, they are taken to the extreme for dark humor and troubling purposes to dramatize the perennial curse of solitude.
In the interview done by Dread Central with the directors, McConaughy went on to describe Dead Mail as ‘a dull Midwest film’ and it’s the exact perfect description. Although it may be interpreted as rude, it does embody the essence of this movie as it aims at portraying a specific lethargy that perhaps even suburbia of midwestern states went through during the 1980’s. Everyone is just trying to make ends meet at the very best they can, but there are instances that making ends meet tends to get a bit nasty.
Aiming for the 80s vibe targeting the low end of the budget, DeBoer and McConaughy transform the digital image into an analogue one with the help of grain and Payton Jane’s production design. Most importantly, this is not a film that idolizes the past and views it as a rosy place that has many good memories. Instead, DeBoer and McConaughy again focus on that angst and the existential feeling of discontent that haunted the generic working class. Wood panels and flower wallpapers have been so ed in nycr-002041 the audience sees them as soft gentle antiquities rather than plaques of the good old days.
Though revealing more would ruin the enjoyment of Dead Mail, a plot which I can safely say is worth getting into. DeBoer and McConaughy take today’s notions of the 1980s and nostalgia and put a spin onto it in a neo Fargo way of being at the wrong place at the wrong time, having a small town crime, and just looking for a friend. Good writing and convincing performances elevate what could be plain ridiculous into a strange, sad and horrendously beautiful shocking genre film. It is the best example of a lo-fi indie film where one can pluck out the peculiar and the great all at once.
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