In the 1980s, a letter from a kidnapped man reaches a dead-mail investigator, who sets out to find him.
Well, if that’s not an interesting concept…
There is a lot to take in here. Dead Mail starts with a genuinely intriguing first act that immediately sets the tone and atmosphere. From the very beginning, this slow-burn thriller radiates strong 1980s vibes; it takes place in that era and imitates it stylistically. Look what kind of people we are talking about: A kidnapped keyboard engineer (the only normal), a strange but brilliant investigator who works in a department dealing with lost letters and valuables in a small American town, who collaborates with a mysterious Norwegian secret agent/spy helping him solve cases of lost letters, and a highly sophisticated villain who is obsessed with keyboard engineering. If that doesn’t get your attention, I don’t know what will.
But when we actually get to know the villain, that’s when things start becoming truly eccentric. And I mean very eccentric. Shudder, and writers/directors Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaghy clearly decided to invest in a very particular kind of film. The villain is a highly educated, we are never quite sure in what, psychotic individual who used to practice javelin and is obsessed with synthesiser engineering. He kidnaps a synthesiser engineer and keeps him in a massive, intricate house that makes you wonder where the money came from, since the man appears not to work at all. The entire situation grows more absurd as the film progresses, and, interestingly, the audiovisual style increasingly matches that absurdity.
McConaghy, who also serves as composer, cinematographer and editor, along with DeBoer, also a composer, make sure the film’s quirky synthesiser score and the visual style work together. The film is full of abrupt cuts, low angles, high angles, Dutch angles, tracking shots, close-ups – almost every technique you can think of. Normally, throwing so many stylistic choices into the mix would be a disaster, but here, somehow, it actually works. The visual chaos matches the villain’s strange personality, his posh British-English language delivered in an American accent, and his overall toxicity and sinister presence.
Does the film make perfect sense? Not really. Does it keep your attention? Absolutely. You keep watching because you want to see where this bizarre story is going, whether the kidnapped man will escape, what the villain is actually trying to achieve, and what kind of justice, if any, will be delivered in the end.
This is not a commercial thriller. It is not a horror film that will terrify you or keep you awake at night. It is, however, an intriguing, eccentric, absurd film that you might enjoy if you approach it with the right expectations.
Oh, and one more thing: John Fleck really steals the show.
OK, one more last thing: stay for the credits. Seriously. You might end up looking something up afterwards. No spoilers.
Thanks for reading!
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