IMDb's 2024 SXSW Cheat Sheet: Films You Need to Know About From the Fest12 of 14
Dead Mail
From the opening frames of Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaghy’s horror thriller you can tell you’re in for something different. The grainy handheld shot of a bound man dragging himself toward a mailbox to send out a help note makes you feel like you’re watching a movie from the bygone era of low-budget direct-to-video movies of the 1980s. What follows is a shifty thriller that covers familiar ground, but adds a novel angle (undeliverable mail investigators), an abundance of synthesizers (on screen and in the score), and a drab retro-midwest aesthetic that feels more authentic than the neon glow that typically passes for ‘80s nostalgia in modern movies and TV.
From the opening frames of Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaghy’s horror thriller you can tell you’re in for something different. The grainy handheld shot of a bound man dragging himself toward a mailbox to send out a help note makes you feel like you’re watching a movie from the bygone era of low-budget direct-to-video movies of the 1980s. What follows is a shifty thriller that covers familiar ground, but adds a novel angle (undeliverable mail investigators), an abundance of synthesizers (on screen and in the score), and a drab retro-midwest aesthetic that feels more authentic than the neon glow that typically passes for ‘80s nostalgia in modern movies and TV.
PeopleSterling Macer Jr.
TitlesDead Mail