Dead Mail

I was somewhat hyped for this one as it was advertised to have the same producer as Late Night With The Devil which was excellent. Unfortunately, I have to say that as a lover of both Analog Horror and synthesizers, Dead Mail just didn't hit for me.

On the plus side, the atmosphere is very well done. I really enjoyed the slightly surrealist throw-back vibe and aesthetically they did a great job. It's not too too far off from other similar modern artsy, claustrophobic horror films, but no complaints from me here.

The movie starts off quite well and I found the Jasper character/story to be engaging and I was really curious to see where it led.

Unfortunately, we don't get all that much of it before it cuts to a prolonged flashback of how the kidnapping occurs. I enjoyed the Josh character and watching him carrying out the vision of his dream synth. Unfortunately though, at this point the movie completely flatlines. It becomes increasingly grating, slow, and tedious. Whatever story was being developed is lost as the film becomes entirely style over substance. The actors and the look/feel of the film are fine, but the whole thing just crawls at a glacial pace without providing anything particularly engaging to latch onto. I quickly lost interest in the characters and the (lack of) story and turned it off. I certainly don't care enough to go back and finish it.

Lots of potential for sure, but nothing to keep the viewer hooked outside of aesthetic.