‘Dead Mail’: Inside the Buzzy SXSW Thriller That Feels Like a Sinister ’80s VHS Found Deep in a Midwest Closet
variety.comWilliam Earl administrator From its first frames, “Dead Mail” feels dangerous. Grainy footage shows a chained man desperately crawling out of a house to a mailbox, trying to mail a blood-soaked letter alerting someone to his address.
Hazy synth notes dot the soundtrack. As he flees in terror, the film looks grainy and warm, something you’d stumble on in an insomniac haze on the high-numbered cable channels.
That nostalgic vibe was what inspired filmmakers Kyle McConaghy and Joe DeBoer, who wrote and directed “Dead Mail.” Despite the nightmarish opening, the action then moves to the titular department inside a Midwest post office, with a set that looks pulled straight from the ’80s.
But this isn’t the neon-drenched ’80s that filmmakers often fetishize, but an era filled with neutral tones, drab interiors and carpets that look saturated with cigarette smoke. “The big thing was finding locations that felt right, props that we knew were authentic to the era,” McConaghy said. “It was a mantra we had for all the departments.
Read more on variety.com