The latest entry in A24’s horror catalog once again proves that genuine terror has very little to do with budget size. undertone, directed by Ian Tuason in his feature debut, is a single-location story that spends the majority of its runtime with a single character. The film follows Evy (Nina Kiri), a lonely podcaster whose days are divided between caring for her dying mother and recording a paranormal podcast with her co-host, Justin. While she typically plays the skeptic on their show, a disturbing submission of audio files threaten to defy all Evy claims to believe.
Immediately, Tuason establishes a dark and shadowy atmosphere in the house. The direction unfolds at an eerie pace before gradually developing with a more anxious, frantic energy. While there is some striking and stylish camerawork throughout, the film’s true standout is the sound design. Both the noise and the silence in between create a constant sense of unease, allowing the mind to wander and fill in the gaps with something maybe even worse than what is onscreen. It’s rare for a horror film to be this effective without relying on explicit imagery, but Tuason proves that when handled with precision, sound alone can be just as terrifying.
And undertone is just that: truly terrifying. If nothing else works about it, the scares absolutely do. It comes as no surprise that Tuason has been attached to direct the next Paranormal Activity installment. There is something about undertone that reminded me of the late-2000s and early-2010s horror films of my childhood, partly due to the demonic elements and partly because it is the first film since then to unsettle me so completely.
The performances and the screenplay, which was also penned by Tuason, are the two most clear elements where the film stumbles. Both are good but rarely great. The writing in particular frequently undercuts the tension and needlessly prolongs the narrative. It’s also unclear what the film is ultimately trying to say thematically or whether it has anything meaningful to say about the subjects it gestures toward, including pregnancy, religion, and caregiving.
As a result, even with its tremendous innovation with its soundscape, the lack of clear motivation within the film’s ideological core make the entire story feel somewhat unremarkable. Then again, I may not be the most reliable judge. I did spend at least a third of the film watching through my fingertips.
Hannah Tran
Hannah Tran is a filmmaker, writer, and friendly neighborhood barista from Las Vegas. She graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Film and English and is currently working on her first feature film. In her spare time, she can be found attending film festivals, running a local book club, and, of course, devouring as many movies as possible.