Sundance Review: UNDERTONE Creates a Haunting Auditory Nightmare

I’m obsessed with all things horror, and podcasts are no exception. If I’m by myself, it doesn’t matter what I’m doing, chances are I’m listening to a podcast about either true crime or ghost stories.

I even have a selection of ghost story podcasts that help me fall asleep. So when I heard about the new A24 acquisition, Undertone, I was pretty excited. 

The film follows Evy (Nina Kiri,) the host of a popular paranormal podcast, as she cares for her catatonic mother who is at the end of her life. Completely isolated, her only connection to the rest of the world is her podcast, where she plays the skeptic to her co-host Justin’s believer in the paranormal.

But when they receive some disturbing audio files, Evy’s skepticism begins to waver as strange things start happening around her. 

There’s some really fun and creepy sound design, and the haunting atmosphere is relentless through the entirety of the film. But there’s some ridiculously heavy-handed dialogue that ruins the feeling of dread that accompanies the unknown.

Instead of assuming the audience will follow along, they spoon-feed us the big reveal, which led to some chuckles in the audience during what was supposed to be a serious moment. That said, I really enjoyed how often I jumped out of my seat. I’m rooting for this low-budget horror movie.

Here’s the description from the Sundance website: 

The host of a popular paranormal podcast becomes haunted by terrifying recordings mysteriously sent her way.

Strained by the responsibility of providing end-of-life care to her dying mother, Evy (Nina Kiri) seeks respite from the loneliness of her fragmented reality. Now living in a house full of sentimental keepsakes and memories, her sanity and structure lies within her work on a supernatural podcast, The Undertone.

While she usually plays skeptic to the creepy (and often disturbing) audio files sent to her by co-host Justin (Adam DiMarco) for podcast fodder, the latest submission hits differently.

A series of 10 unheard recordings from a young pregnant couple are unfurled one by one, each more ominous than the last. As Evy draws parallels to her current plight, hidden messages manifest, pushing her further toward madness.

Writer-director Ian Tuason’s debut feature is unsettling to say the least. Deceptively terrifying in its conceit, Evy’s solitude manifests itself as a visceral audio-visual landscape, where the ring of a cell phone creates just as much of a jump scare as any monster ever could.