Postal

Postal

Year: 2019

Runtime: 77 mins

Language: English

Director: Tyler Falbo

Comedy

Inspired by true events, this film explores the emotional breakdown of Philip Tress, a Jacksonville millennial whose story gained notoriety through recordings of calls made to a customer service agent at an international shipping company. The story reimagines the events surrounding his descent, documenting a complex and unsettling unrequited obsession.

Warning: spoilers below!

Haven’t seen Postal yet? This summary contains major spoilers. Bookmark the page, watch the movie, and come back for the full breakdown. If you're ready, scroll on and relive the story!

Timeline – Postal (2019)

Trace every key event in Postal (2019) with our detailed, chronological timeline. Perfect for unpacking nonlinear stories, spotting hidden connections, and understanding how each scene builds toward the film’s climax. Whether you're revisiting or decoding for the first time, this timeline gives you the full picture.

1

Week begins with a task briefing

Postal Dude wakes in his dilapidated caravan behind a house in Paradise, Arizona, and the week-long loop of tasks begins. The player learns the objective is to finish all tasks by Friday, starting with mundane chores like 'get milk' and later others including confessing sins. The daily goals can be pursued in any order, and players can choose peaceful or violent methods to complete them.

Monday morning Paradise, Arizona
2

Provoked on the streets

As he leaves home, Postal Dude is repeatedly provoked by locals who flip him off, mug him, and harass him with protests. The constant harassment tests his patience and sets the tone for a town that thrives on chaos. These interactions illustrate the game's satirical take on social confrontations.

Monday Paradise streets
3

The money line confrontation

At the local convenience store, Postal Dude faces a smug owner and patrons who cut in line and ignore basic courtesy. This petty humiliation foreshadows the unpredictable violence the game permits if pushed. He must decide whether to react peacefully or lash out, shaping the week’s tone.

Monday Convenience store
4

The gonorrhea task activates

One of the week’s tasks is triggered when Postal Dude urinates and discovers he has gonorrhea. The objective then becomes seeking treatment, adding a personal health quest to the otherwise mundane errands. This task demonstrates the game’s dark humor and willingness to address taboo topics.

Midweek Various, including clinic
5

Cannibal butcher shop encounter

Postal Dude crosses paths with cannibal butcher shop workers who present a grotesque threat. The encounter showcases the game's surreal and macabre humor, while giving players the option to navigate or confront the danger. The encounter contributes to the escalating sense of danger in Paradise.

Midweek Butcher shop
6

The Gary Coleman cameo

The town is populated by eccentric characters, including a cameo from former child actor Gary Coleman. Interactions with such odd figures highlight the surreal, chaotic tone of Paradise. These moments punctuate the week with unexpected humor alongside menace.

Midweek Various locations in Paradise
7

Police, SWAT, and federal attention

As the week progresses, the Paradise Police Department and its SWAT team grow increasingly aggressive. Overzealous ATF agents and National Guard units arrive, signaling the city’s slide toward total law-and-order breakdown. The expanding law enforcement presence foreshadows the imminent collapse of normalcy.

Midweek Paradise
8

Terrorists make their appearance

Fanatical al-Qaeda terrorists, including Osama bin Laden, are encountered in the town's crisis tableau. Postal Dude must navigate this surreal threat as violence becomes normalized in the collapsing town. The game's satire places him amid an increasingly absurd battleground of factions.

Midweek Paradise
9

Apocalypse hits Paradise

On Friday afternoon, society collapses and chaos erupts as cats fall from the sky and guns fill the streets. Normal routines completely break down as random gun battles explode across town. The day marks the literal descent into anarchy that defines the finale of the week.

Friday afternoon Paradise
10

Postal Dude returns home amid chaos

Despite the chaos, Postal Dude stubbornly returns to his trailer behind the house. Inside, he argues with his wife about a missing 'rocky road' she wanted earlier, adding a deeply personal thread to the week’s escalating violence. The domestic scene underscores the game's blend of the banal and the brutal.

Friday afternoon Postal Dude's caravan trailer
11

Ending moment and credits

The sequence culminates with a gunshot heard, and the end credits roll. The abrupt finale leaves the consequences of the week’s chaos open to interpretation. The ending reinforces the game's signature dark humor and nihilistic tone.

Friday evening Trailer

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 13:04

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Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Movies about societal collapse spirals like Postal

Where a single trigger event causes a rapid, violent unraveling of society.If you liked the fast-paced, chaotic descent into mayhem in Postal, explore these movies where seemingly small events trigger a rapid, violent unraveling of society. These films often blend dark satire with high-intensity action, focusing on the absurdity of modern life crashing down.

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Narrative Summary

Stories in this thread typically begin in a state of mundane normality that is quickly disrupted by a triggering event. This leads to an escalating series of chaotic and often violent encounters, accelerating towards a climax of full-scale societal breakdown, all within a compressed, fast-paced timeline.

Why These Movies?

Movies are grouped here for their shared core experience: a fast-paced, high-intensity journey from order to chaos. They connect through a darkly humorous, satirical tone that critiques modern society while depicting its violent collapse, driven by a protagonist's psychological unraveling.

Movies about darkly comedic psychological breakdowns like Postal

Films that find unsettling humor in a character's severe psychological breakdown.Fans of Postal's portrayal of a darkly funny psychological unraveling will appreciate these films. They explore obsessive behavior and mental collapse with a satirical edge, blending heavy themes with absurdist humor for a uniquely provocative and unsettling experience.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative follows a character's linear but increasingly irrational descent, often fixated on a specific person or goal. Their escalating actions, which would be tragic in a straight drama, are framed with absurdity and satire, creating a tension between the seriousness of the themes and the comedic presentation.

Why These Movies?

These films are grouped by their unique tonal blend: using comedy to explore heavy psychological themes. They share a high-intensity, provocative feel where the viewer is made uncomfortable yet amused by a character's unhinged behavior and the absurd situations it creates.

Unlock the Full Story of Postal

Don't stop at just watching — explore Postal in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Postal is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

Postal Summary

Read a complete plot summary of Postal, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

Postal Summary

Characters, Settings & Themes in Postal

Discover the characters, locations, and core themes that shape Postal. Get insights into symbolic elements, setting significance, and deeper narrative meaning — ideal for thematic analysis and movie breakdowns.

Characters, Settings & Themes in Postal

Postal Spoiler-Free Summary

Get a quick, spoiler-free overview of Postal that covers the main plot points and key details without revealing any major twists or spoilers. Perfect for those who want to know what to expect before diving in.

Postal Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Postal

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about Postal: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

More About Postal