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Note: This review was originally published as part of our 2024 SXSW coverage. Dead Mail is now on Shudder.

Blending found footage and what appears to be grainy 16mm (they shot the film on an early Dv as a matter of fact), Kyle McConaghy and Joe DeBoer’s Dead Mail embraces the creepiness of its concept. Like Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow or Kyle Edward Ball’s Skinamarink, this is the stuff of subconscious nightmares, though Dead Mail falls slightly more into the slasher camp. The film is effectively creepy from the feeling that––à la Harmony Korine’s Trash Humpers––it’s a relic of the past. Also, like Schoenbrun’s film, it suggests a story that could have been imagined from a 20/20 segment or a late-night documentary that a child should not have watched after their bedtime but nevertheless did.

Dead Mail delivers something original, playing its horror down the line,...

"Tell me what delights you..." Shudder has revealed their official trailer for the wacky, grainy indie horror film titled Dead Mail, created by Midwest filmmakers Joe DeBoer & Kyle McConaghy. This first premiered at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival a year ago (here's the festival teaser), and it also played at TIFF, FrightFest, Screamfest, Grimmfest, Night Visions, and the Splat!FilmFest last year. After a great fest run, it's ready for streaming on Shudder later in April. An ominous, bloody help note finds its way to the desk of a seasoned dead letter investigator at a 1980’s midwestern post office. As he begins to piece together the letter’s origins, it leads him down a violent, unforeseen path to a kidnapped keyboard engineer and his eccentric business associate. The film features Sterling Macer, Jr., John Fleck, Susan Priver, Micki Jackson, Tomas Boykin, and Nick Heyman. Reviews from fests have been quite positive:...

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If you are a horror fan, then there is a big chance that you might have heard about the horror streaming service Shudder, and if you have its subscription, you might be wondering what’s in store for you in April 2025. Don’t worry. There is a host of new and old horror movies coming to the service in the upcoming month, and we have listed the 10 best movies coming to Shudder in April 2025.

Fright Night (April 1) Credit – Columbia Pictures

Fright Night is a supernatural horror film written and directed by Tom Holland. The 1985 film follows a teenager who knows that his next-door neighbour is a vampire, but when he tells people, nobody believes. So, he asks for assistance from a has-been horror film actor. Fright Night stars Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse, Stephen Geoffreys, and Roddy McDowall.

Dead Mail: "Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thrillers and the supernatural, today released the trailer and poster for ‘80s Midwest horror thriller Dead Mail from directors Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaghy. The highly anticipated film, which made its world premiere at the 2024 SXSW Festival, stars Sterling Macer Jr., John Fleck, Susan Piver, Micki Jackson, Tomas Boykin and Nick Heyman. On the heels of its immensely successful festival run which included being selected at Toronto Film Festival’s Midnight Madness Section, Sitges Film Festival and Brooklyn Horror Fest, Dead Mail will make its exclusive streaming debut April 18 on Shudder as part of the streamer’s annual Halfway to Halloween celebration.

On a desolate, Midwestern county road, a bound man crawls towards a remote postal box, managing to slide a blood-stained plea-for-help message into the slot before a panicking figure closes in behind him. The note makes its way to the desk of Jasper,...

Have you ever wondered what happens when your letter gets lost in the mail? Did you know there are dead letter investigators? At least, there are in Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaghy‘s 80s-inspired film Dead Mail, which makes its exclusive streaming debut this April on Shudder! To celebrate the announcement, Shudder released a new trailer and poster for the film. Check them out below!

Read the film’s full synopsis:

On a desolate, Midwestern county road, a bound man crawls towards a remote postal box, managing to slide a blood-stained plea-for-help message into the slot before a panicking figure closes in behind him. The note makes its way to the desk of Jasper, a seasoned ‘dead letter’ investigator at a 1980s midwestern post office. As he begins to piece together the letter’s origins, it leads him down a violent, unforeseen path to a kidnapped keyboard engineer and his eccentric business associate.

From the producers of Barbarian and Late Night with the Devil, open the trailer for Dead Mail below.

Written and directed by Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaghy, the ’80s-set thriller streams April 18 on Shudder.

On a desolate, Midwestern county road, a bound man crawls towards a remote postal box, managing to slide a blood-stained plea-for-help message into the slot before a panicking figure closes in behind him.

The note makes its way to the desk of Jasper, a seasoned ‘dead letter’ investigator at a 1980s midwestern post office. As he begins to piece together the letter’s origins, it leads him down a violent, unforeseen path to a kidnapped keyboard engineer and his eccentric business associate.

Sterling Macer Jr., John Fleck, Susan Piver, Micki Jackson, Tomas Boykin, and Nick Heyman star.

Zachary Weil and Brett Arndt produce, with Roy Lee, Steven Schneider, Adam Goldworm, and Susan Priver serving as executive producers.

Shudder has announced today that they’ve acquired the lo-fi ’80s Midwest horror thriller Dead Mail from directors Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaghy. The news comes with a Spring release date as part of Shudder’s Halfway-to-Halloween celebrations.

Dead Mail is set to premiere on Shudder on April 18, 2025.

In the film, “On a desolate, Midwestern county road, a bound man crawls towards a remote postal box, managing to slide a blood-stained plea-for-help message into the slot before a panicking figure closes in behind him. The note makes its way to the desk of Jasper, a seasoned ‘dead letter’ investigator at a 1980s midwestern post office. As he begins to piece together the letter’s origins, it leads him down a violent, unforeseen path to a kidnapped keyboard engineer and his eccentric business associate.”

Sterling Macer Jr., John Fleck, Susan Piver, Micki Jackson, Tomas Boykin, and Nick Heyman star.

DeBoer and McConaghy said,...

Exclusive: Dead Mail, an acclaimed ’80s Midwest horror thriller from writer-directors Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaghy, is set to make its exclusive streaming debut on Shudder as part of the streamer’s annual Halfway to Halloween celebration on April 18.

The film hits streaming following a successful festival run that began with its world premiere at SXSW 2024, also featuring stops at the Sitges Film Festival, Brooklyn Horror Fest and others. Its plot is thrust into motion on a desolate, Midwestern county road, as a bound man crawls towards a remote postal box, managing to slide a blood-stained plea-for-help message into the slot before a panicking figure closes in behind him. The note makes its way to the desk of Jasper, a seasoned ‘dead letter’ investigator at a 1980s midwestern post office. And as Jasper begins to piece together the letter’s origins, it leads him down a violent, unforeseen path to...

The Overlook Film Fest 2024 edition, taking place April 4 – April 7 in New Orleans, Louisiana, just announced even more additions to their already packed lineup, including the Nicolas Cage-starring creature feature Arcadian.

“With the full scope of this year’s lineup, we’re thrilled to be able to recognize all of the many forms horror can take,” said Lisa Carbonari, festival director of The Overlook Film Festival. “We’re diving headfirst into the dark and twisted, through the films, immersive presentations, interactive exhibits, themed parties and even sensory experiences. We can’t wait to get together with our fellow horror-lovers and celebrate all of the different ways we enjoy being scared.”

The new additions to the lineup bring the festival total to 52 films (28 features and 24 shorts) from 11 countries, as well as four live presentations, six immersive experiences and six special events.

While you can read up on the previously announced lineup here,...

Writers/Directors Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaghy’s lo-fi ’80s psychological thriller, Dead Mail, anchors its offbeat story, characters, and retro style around profound loneliness. Bloody Disgusting spoke with the filmmakers along with stars Sterling Macer Jr. and John Fleck at SXSW, where the film made its world premiere, about their unique approach to the genre-bender.

Dead Mail leans heavily into the ’80s analog aesthetic, delivering a unique crime thriller unafraid to get weird with its dark narrative.

In the film, “On a desolate, Midwestern county road, a bound man crawls towards a remote postal box, managing to slide a blood-stained plea-for-help message into the slot before a panicking figure closes in behind him. The note makes its way to the county post office and onto the desk of Jasper, a seasoned and skilled ‘dead letter’ investigator, responsible for investigating lost mail and returning it to its sender. As he investigates further,...

"The one to strike fear is the man who is alone." An early festival promo teaser has debuted for the indie horror thriller film titled Dead Mail, the second feature from indie genre filmmakers Joe DeBoer & Kyle McConaghy (also of Bab in 2020). This is premiering at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival soon and this trailer will give genre fans an early look at what's going down in this. Though all of this footage just makes me even more confused - who is this guy and why is he chained up in this room?! An ominous help note finds its way to a 1980s post office, connecting a dead letter investigator to a kidnapped keyboard technician. As Jasper investigates further, he meets Trent, a strange yet unassuming man who has taken up residence at the men’s home where Jasper lives and has an interest in this letter. The indie film stars Sterling Macer, Jr.,...

One of the genre films we’re looking forward to checking out at SXSW this year is Dead Mail, written and directed by Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaghy and premiering on March 9.

A new teaser and key art has debuted ahead of the fest, giving a closer look at the ’80s analog aesthetic.

In the SXSW 2024 horror film…

“On a desolate, Midwestern county road, a bound man crawls towards a remote postal box, managing to slide a blood-stained plea-for-help message into the slot before a panicking figure closes in behind him. The note makes its way to the county post office and onto the desk of Jasper, a seasoned and skilled “dead letter” investigator, responsible for investigating lost mail and returning it to its sender. As he investigates further, Jasper meets Trent, a strange yet unassuming man who has taken up residence at the men’s home where Jasper lives.

One of the genre films we’re looking forward to checking out at SXSW this year is Dead Mail, written and directed by Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaghy and premiering on March 9.

Meagan Navarro will be reviewing Dead Mail for Bloody Disgusting as part of her SXSW coverage, and she writes in her preview for the upcoming fest: “Dead Mail leans heavily into the ’80s analog aesthetic, delivering a unique crime thriller unafraid to get offbeat with its dark narrative. Expect its characters to be as atypical as Dead Mail‘s sense of style.”

In the SXSW 2024 horror film…

“On a desolate, Midwestern county road, a bound man crawls towards a remote postal box, managing to slide a blood-stained plea-for-help message into the slot before a panicking figure closes in behind him. The note makes its way to the county post office and onto the desk of Jasper, a seasoned and skilled “dead letter” investigator,...

The latest edition of the SXSW Film Festival kicks off later this week in Austin, Texas, unleashing an expansive slate of film programming an experiences- emphasis on expansive. For the horror fan, the fest offers so much more beyond the Midnighter programming section, and this SXSW 2024 preview guide should help.

The 2024 SXSW Film & TV Festival’s Opening Night TV Premiere is the highly anticipated Netflix series 3 Body Problem created, executive produced and written by Emmy Award winners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss and Emmy Award nominee Alexander Woo. The Midnighter category includes buzzy titles like Samara Weaving-starring Azrael and Sundance favorite It’s What’s Inside. The fest’s Headliner section comes packed with highly anticipated titles like Immaculate, Cuckoo, and Arcadian. But all of this only scratches the surface of titles to get excited about.

Whether you’re heading to Austin this week or keeping track...

The Toronto Black Film Festival is back for the 11th year of amplifying Black voices in cinema, with this year’s edition featuring 125 movies from 20 different countries.

Presented by Td Bank Group in collaboration with Global News, this year’s Tbff is celebrating the return of in-person programming while maintaining an online component, with a goal of inspiring the next generation of Black artists in film and beyond!

The 2023 edition of Canada’s largest celebration of Black History Month through film features a star-studded roster of talent that includes Letitia Wright, Josh O’Connor, Columbus Short, Keith David, Ledisi, Colin Kaepernick, Rickey Jackson, Don Lemmon, Ossie Davis, Karen Pittman, Corey Stoll, Cesária Évora and many more.

Read More: The 10th Annual Toronto Black Film Festival To Start With Keke Palmer, Common’s ‘Alice’

The Festival’s opening night will take place on Wednesday, Feb 15 at the Isabel Bader Theatre with the...

Deals close in UK, Australia, France, Germany, South Korea, Middle East.

Highland Film Group has closed multiple territory sales on Aaron Eckhart Vietnam War action thriller Ambush which has been filming in Colombia and relocates to southern California at the end of the month.

Saban Films is set to release Ambush in North America and Highland has licensed rights in the UK (Signature), France and French-speaking Switzerland (Crome Films), Germany, Benelux and German-speaking Switzerland (Splendid Film), Australia and New Zealand (Rialto Distribution), Italy (Notorious Pictures), Scandinavia (Mis.Label) and South Korea (Jane & U).

Further deals have closed in Taiwan (Cai...