The host of a popular paranormal podcast is sent hidden messages within anonymous recordings, unleashing a demonic presence that is impossible to escape in this nerve-shredding nightmare that haunts long after the last echo fades.
Where to Watch Undertone
- Corey BurkesApril 14, 2026Lord Almighty, I never thought I’d see such a slow burn horror movie. I know it is trying to do and I totally get how audio can be a sensation, but long minutes on one character just to listen to audio is not the way to go. This film starts off well and it’s great if you want something playing in the background since the audio does its job that way, but looking at this movie will make you sleepy. It’s incredibly dull. And I think the core problem is it’s trying to make a feature-length out of something that could’ve been just done well as a short and left as a short. One last thought: it’s films like this that justify my appreciation for streaming versus going to the theater. If I went to the movies and paid upwards of $50 plus including concession, I would be pissed.
- Adam Azul2d agoUndertone is a horror film directed by Ian Tuason and released by A24. I am often pleasantly surprised by the quality of horror films released by this studio, and this one is no exception. It does really great job at getting under your skin, relying on more auditory scares than visual ones. With a name like Undertone, it should not be a surprise how much sound plays an important part. From the screaming whistle of a tea kettle, to the ominous clicking of an analog clock, this film has sounds that can be truly unnerving. Even the usage of cellphone vibrations really drives home the point of the annoyances of the outside world that weigh down Nina Kiri’s character Evy as she struggles to cope with her ailing mom. Honestly, it was that aspect that hit home hard for me. Anyone who has witnessed the decline and death of a parent can understand the stress that Evy goes through. Coupling that with the strange phenomenon that starts to manifest around her really amps up the sense of dread. The plot centers around a podcast between Evy and her friend, where they delve into the strange and bizarre. During an episode, they begin to listen to some audio files sent to them by a mysterious email. As they progress, paranormal occurrences begin to occur. This idea brings a modern take to the trope of demonic conjuring while also giving a node to stories about cursed tapes. This aspect is done quite well, which is further reinforced by Evy’s skepticism towards the whole thing as she strives to poke holes in the occurrences. My only complaint would have to be the ending. It does leave things a bit ambiguous, which is fine, but I’d rather have seen and experienced more. Things just get ramped up to 10 before the film cuts to black which is a bit of a shame. Even so, the experience leading up to this was enjoyable and unique.
- Avery Thornburg5d agoGiving very much pandemic movie. As in there were so few characters, it felt like they had no choice or something. Literally two people ever seen, one in a coma practically. And two voices without even any flashover to see them at any point. I suppose that was to hsve some special effect on the vibe but it kind of just gave low budget and low pathogens. There was almost zero character development or context of even the premise of it which leaves u a bit listless since a lot of the movie is cameras panning around a dim house. The panning wasnt terrible; u felt a little on edge cuz normally something happens eventually when that happens and for the most part, it kind of never did which kind of sucks. Maybe one or twice in literally the last 5 mins. Very slow burn. Basically nothing happened until the last 20 minutes. Even for all of that, a lot of missed potential in moments that could have rattled the viewer a little more to make it more worthy.
- RGmidasMay 31, 2026Undertone (2026): Creepy Podcasts, Questionable Medical Ethics, and the Cinematic Power of Watching Someone Slowly Lose Their Entire Grip on Reality 🎙️👶📼 There are horror movies that terrify you. There are horror movies that disturb you. And then there is Undertone, which spends 94 minutes asking: "What if trying to out-skinimirank the skinimirank was the worst decision anyone has ever made?" A24's "film" centers on Evangeline ("Evy"), a skeptical paranormal podcaster caring for her comatose mother while investigating increasingly disturbing recordings tied to a supernatural force. Unfortunately, while I admire what the film is attempting, I spent much of the runtime feeling like I was trapped inside the world's most upsetting NPR pledge drive. The Actual Scariest Part of the Movie Is the Doctor 📞😳 Forget the demon. Forget the creepy recordings. Forget the backwards nursery rhymes. The most terrifying character in the entire movie is that absolutely unhinged doctor. At one point, Evy receives a middle-of-the-night phone call informing her that she's pregnant. Excuse me? Sir. What are your office hours? What medical practice is operating under: "Good evening. It is 3:00 a.m. I have life-altering news." I spent the entire scene less concerned about supernatural forces and more concerned about this physician's complete disregard for boundaries. The demon Babazou? Scary. The possibility that my doctor thinks 3 a.m. is an acceptable time to discuss lab results? Absolutely chilling. The World's Least Subtle "Is Mom Dead?" Mystery 👵💀 Now, I understand that the film is trying to immerse us in Evy's deteriorating mental state. I appreciate unreliable narrators. I enjoy ambiguity. But there comes a point where the audience starts feeling like Charlie Brown repeatedly trying to kick the football. The movie keeps teasing us with the condition of Evy's mother, who spends most of the film in a comatose state while Evy cares for her. And maybe this is just me, but after a while I was sitting there thinking: "Guys. I don't think she's okay." The film repeatedly circles around this mystery through Evy's increasingly fractured perspective, and while that approach works initially, eventually it feels less like suspense and more like being trapped in a group project where you're the only person who finished the reading. The movie wants us to question reality. I was mostly questioning how long we were supposed to pretend something wasn't obviously wrong. Credit Where Credit Is Due: This Cinematographer Was Performing Miracles 📷👏 Let's give some flowers to cinematographer Graham Beasley. Because holy hell. The production reportedly took place largely in the director's childhood home and uses an extremely limited number of locations. This movie basically has: one house, a few rooms, some hallways, and vibes. That's it. And somehow it frequently looks fantastic. The camera movements create genuine dread. Shadows become threatening. Empty spaces become unsettling. The visual language constantly suggests something lurking just beyond the frame. It's the cinematic equivalent of making a gourmet meal using ingredients found in the back of a college student's refrigerator. Respect. Unfortunately It Gets Real Skinamarink By The End 📺🔇😭 Now we arrive at the point where the movie and I began drifting apart like two friends discovering they have radically different opinions about Drake. The first half effectively uses sound as horror. The final stretch sometimes feels like it uses the absence of things as horror. Long sequences consist primarily of: ambient noises, distant crying babies, darkness, breathing, more ambient noises, additional crying babies, and what occasionally feels like the soundtrack trying to convince you your headphones are broken. Lots of good reviews on this movie from people who are big fans of crying babies in the darkness. I, however, began experiencing a spiritual journey. Specifically the journey of wondering how much longer the movie had left. There is a very delicate line between: "The audience imagines the horror." and "The audience imagines a better movie." The final act occasionally wobbles across that line. Justin and Evy: The World's Most Extreme Podcast Dynamic 🎙️🤦 One of the more frustrating aspects of the film is the relationship between Evy and her podcast co-host Justin. The movie establishes them as a skeptic-believer pairing. Evy dismisses paranormal claims while Justin eagerly embraces them. That's a perfectly reasonable setup. The problem is that the movie treats these positions as if they are the only two settings available to humanity. Evy is skeptical to the point where the literal apocalypse could happen in her living room and she'd still be saying: "We should probably gather more data." Meanwhile Justin hears a suspicious noise and immediately reaches the conclusion: "The veil between worlds has collapsed." There is no middle ground. No ambiguity. No spectrum of belief. In this universe, either you're a hardened skeptic until your dying breath or you're Justin. A man who could discover his mashed potatoes arranged in a vaguely triangular shape and immediately declare: "This means something." The dynamic works at first because it's funny and creates tension. By the seventieth discussion about mysterious audio files, it starts feeling less like characterization and more like a podcast sponsored by confirmation bias. The Runtime Problem ⏰😵 Perhaps the greatest horror of undertone is that it contains approximately 20 minutes of story and 94 minutes of movie. The premise is ok. The atmosphere is strong. The sound design is undeniably impressive. But the film keeps returning to the same wells: listen to audio, hear creepy thing, discuss creepy thing, become more concerned, repeat. Eventually the movie begins to feel like it's haunting itself. I don't think it's a terrible film. Far from it. I simply think it would have been an outstanding 20-minute short film and a pretty good 60-minute feature. At 94 minutes, it occasionally feels like a horror movie that accidentally left itself on repeat. TLDR 🎙️👶😴 Undertone is an ambitious audio-driven horror film with excellent atmosphere, strong cinematography, and some genuinely creepy ideas. The Good ✅ Excellent sound design. Creepy atmosphere. Impressive cinematography despite limited locations. Effective use of isolation and paranoia. Nina Kiri does strong work as Evy. The Bad ❌ The doctor calling at 3 a.m. may be the most terrifying thing in the film. The skeptic-vs-believer dynamic becomes cartoonishly binary. The movie increasingly resembles Skinamarink's cousin who won't stop texting. Too much repetition. Ninety-four minutes somehow feels like several fiscal quarters. Final Verdict 🎬 Undertone is one of those movies that horror fans will passionately debate for years. Half the audience will call it a masterpiece of atmospheric dread. The other half will spend the final act staring into darkness listening to baby noises while wondering if they accidentally sat through an experimental sound installation. One group are correct. 👶📼😵💫 And somewhere out there, that doctor is still making 3 a.m. phone calls. 📞💀
- Doc WormMarch 15, 2026A haunted podcast? 🙄 This story just didn’t work for me. I wasn’t satisfied with where it ended up and that wouldn’t be so frustrating if it wasn’t such a slow burn. I was bought in for the most part as Undertone effectively conveys a sense of tension while moving through its plot. From a technical aspect the movie does so much with so little. Nina Kiri has a committed performance, the lighting is solid and the sound design is PHENOMENAL. If you do watch this one make sure you are doing so in a way that you can appreciate it’s Dolby atmos mix as this aspect of the film is truly special. With all the kudos I can give Undertone it made it that much more frustrating that I couldn’t get behind the tale it was trying to tell.
- Mariusz803April 28, 2026If you like horror, even cheap horror, skip this. Absolutely nothing happens at all. At the very end, when something does, it's a black screen. The fact its got 6.2/10 on IMDB shows we're living in Idiocracy. This could be contender for worst movie of the year. We couldn't finish it in one sitting because it's too boring. 3/10 at best. Honestly there's scarier IG videos if you doom scroll. Really gotta stop making garbage like this.
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Undertone was released on March 13, 2026.
Undertone was directed by Ian Tuason.
Undertone has a runtime of 1h 33m.
Undertone was produced by Dan Slater, Cody Calahan.
The host of a popular paranormal podcast is sent hidden messages within anonymous recordings, unleashing a demonic presence that is impossible to escape in this nerve-shredding nightmare that haunts long after the last echo fades.
The key characters in Undertone are Evy Babic (Nina Kiri), Justin (voice) (Adam DiMarco), Jessa (voice) (Keana Bastidas).
Undertone is rated R.
Undertone is a Horror, Thriller, Science Fiction film.
Undertone has an audience rating of 5 out of 10.
Undertone had a budget of $500K.
Undertone has made $21.6M at the box office.