Undertone
A24's latest horror offering benefits from wicked sound mix.
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Indie shingle A24 have made a name for themselves in the horror world with movies such as Ari Aster’s “Hereditary” and “Midsommar,” Ti West’s trilogy “X,” “Pearl” and “MaXXXine” and the Philippou brothers’ “Talk to Me” and “Bring Her Back.” Its latest offering is “Undertone” (in theaters beginning Friday, March 13) and it’s similarly impactful if not as entertaining.
On its face “Undertone” is a pretty simple film. It takes place in a single location (a rural Canadian home) and there are only two visible characters on screen - podcaster Evy (Nina Kiri) and her bed-ridden mother (Michèle Duquet).
Evy has moved back in with her Mom to be her caregiver. In her spare time she co-hosts paranormal podcast “The Undertone” with her childhood friend and possible past love interest Justin (voice of Adam DiMarco from “The White Lotus”).
The latest episodes of “The Undertone” concern 10 recordings of couple Jessa (voice of Keana Lyn Bastidas) and Mike (voice of Jeff Yung) that were sent to Justin anonymously. They get progressively more disturbing and suggest demonic possession the further they go along. Unfortunately, Evy’s life also begins emulating what’s occurring on the recordings.
“Undertone” is the feature writing and directorial debut of Ian Tuason and despite being made on a scant $500,000 budget it’s an auditory assault on the audience. I saw the movie in Dolby Cinema and would suggest y’all do the same if it’s available in your area and you have interest in this sort of filmmaking, i.e. experimental and horrific.
I did find the movie a tad repetitious and bit boring even with a relatively short 93-minute runtime, but it’s extremely well acted by Kiri and the sound design is incredible … I seriously believe it should be in consideration for tech awards at the 2027 Oscars. I didn’t find “Undertone” scary per se, but it was plenty disturbing. The final 15 minutes are intense and wild even if the picture concludes way too vaguely for my tastes. By the time the closing credits rolled I felt like I’d just witnessed a work of genuine evil.
“Undertone” is a film I respected more than liked, but I’m glad I experienced it once and will be on the lookout for whatever Tuason does next. It’s rumored to be the newest “Paranormal Activity” picture, which seems fitting given what he did here.