Undertone

Hey everyone, and welcome. Today, we will be talking about the film Undertone. Fun Fact: Undertone is a low, subdued sound that, in this movie, refers to the demon, but it has also appeared in other possession films, usually when they play back recordings. This film came out in 2026 and stars Nina Kiri, Adam DiMarco, and Michele Duquet and was directed by Ian Tuason. So without further ado lets get right into it.

Undertone follows Evy, who takes care of her dying mother and has a horror podcast with her friend Justin. When Justin gets an anonymous email with some audio files, they decide to listen on their podcast, but as they listen, the files get creepier and creepier.

Undertone is a suspenseful, psychological horror movie that will really have your heart rate racing. It has similar vibes to Sinister, Paranormal Activity, or The Conjuring.

Undertone caught my attention because the trailer seemed so unsettling, and we didn’t even see much. This film is one that keeps you on edge by thinking a jump scare is coming, and it doesn’t, and then one comes out of the blue. It’s set in one location, which makes it worse because you can’t help but feel this presence in the house. By the end of the film i was shook at how intense it was and how stressed I was.

I love how we spend the movie in Evy’s house while she’s doing this podcast, watching her mom, and speaking to Justin over the phone. Nina Kiri did great, going from not taking this seriously to eventually realizing this is serious. She showed how someone who is used to scary stuff can get scared and how you might deny it initially, but with more weird stuff happening, you get on edge. I loved seeing her learn more about the recordings and trying to deny that it was real, and then realizing that it was real, and the demon is now after her, and it was too late for her to do anything. She did great being the focal point of the movie and adding to the horror, and making me feel how scared she was.

Evy takes care of her mom in the film, and her mom is basically on her deathbed, and it’s crazy how not doing much besides breathing was so scary. I was questioning if she had moved or if she was going to get better. Later in the film, I saw her move her face and eyes multiple times, and I knew that she was going to be used by this demon, and it was not going to be good. The whole situation was unsettling and added to this sense that makes you feel like you’re going crazy, but you’re not.

The film has a slow burn, which I like, but I will say that the beginning of the film was a bit too slow; I think it found its pace eventually. I love how they really build up the creepiness by having these audio files start pretty chill, but as we hear more, Evy and Justin learn more, which makes it all unsettling. By the end, we know it’s too late for Evy, we see how her nervous drawing is actually something scary, and these tapes weren’t a joke. I thought it was a smart way to set up this film that really has you invested in how it will all play out.

The camera shots were great in the film. They used a lot of wide camera shots with Evy not centered that made me feel like something was there watching her. I think it’s cool they shot this way because I’m thinking, why are they showing the whole room and she’s off to the side? Is something about to pop up? Is her mom going to wake up? It made me have questions that really had me on edge cause it felt like something would be coming, and maybe it did, but it wasn’t at that moment, but it was a brilliant way to increase the viewer’s stress.

Clicking random email links is frowned upon and is typically how phishing happens, which is something your IT department has probably mentioned. This film reminds you not to click on unfamiliar links in your email because who knows, you too might get haunted by a demon and end up dying.

The sound editing was fantastic in this movie and is my favorite part of the film. There are so many moments that will have you scared because the sound was so low, and then you’d hear something from this tape that would catch you off guard, or maybe just freak you out by how quiet it is. I felt they did a great job of showing how over-the-ear noise-cancelling headphones make you question if the sound you hear is coming from your headphones or something else, and how you stop everything to figure out what it was. The sound editing really helped up the stress and get your heart racing because the house was just so quiet with her dying mother and herself being the only ones there, so any noise would make someone worry they weren’t alone.

Undertone was a great movie that had my heart racing, and curious to see what else would happen. It was an inventive story, and the cast did great in their roles in this very contained horror film.