phancy.com - horror reviews - MOH 2025

Dead Mail



IMDb Info

Release Year: 2024
Runtime: 1h 46m
Country: USA
Language: English
Genre Tags: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Plot Summary: An ominous help note finds its way to a 1980s post office, connecting a dead letter investigator to a kidnapped keyboard technician.

Poster - Title Card


phancy.com rating:

phancy.com notes: A low budget marvel. Filmed to look it was made in the 80s, it is so insanely specific in its details that it feels like watching an unlabeled VHS tape found in a thrift store. More of a thriller than straight horror, but great performances, a legitimate sense of menace, and a Hitchcockian plot. The two main characters are obsessed with early synthesizers (which is delightfully niche), and the score features some great synthesizer tracks. It peters out a little near the end, but you should still seek it out.


Outside Reviews:

Katie Rife
3 out of 4 stars - rogerebert.com

"Dead Mail's" quirkiness never grows tiresome, which is impressive. And the angle truly is unique. But the immaculately judged tone and deliberate craft have their downside: Perhaps inevitably, more attention is paid to setting than story. So while it's not quite DOA, hopefully it's a preview of work that's fully realized in all aspects, not just the aesthetic ones.