From A24, the studio that created “Hereditary” and “The Witch,” “Undertone” brings a fresh take on horror with minimal acting, setting and cinematography to emphasize fear through sound, effects and audios.
The film follows a woman named Evy, played by Nina Kiri, who recently moved in with her terminally ill mother to take care of her as she nears the end of her life.
Evy is the co-host of The Undertone podcast where she and her cohost talk about paranormal subjects and cases. Evy seems to have a close friendship with Justin, her cohost, who is voiced by Adam DiMarco but never appears on screen. The only characters to make a regular on-screen appearance are Evy, and Michèle Duquet as her mother.
The minimal casting instills more eerie-ness about the storyline and creates a deeper connection to Evy and the circumstances she faces caring for her terminal mother, who she was previously estranged from.
Evy’s mother has stopped eating, drinking and responding. Evy grows concerned about a rattle sound in her mother’s breathing, but doctors tell Evy that it is likely because she is nearing the last days of her life.
As Evy faces the reality of losing her mother, she feels guilty for their relationship leading up to illness. Evy previously distanced herself due to different religious beliefs that affected their dynamic and ability to develop a close relationship.
Nonetheless, Evy regularly talks and sings to her unresponsive mother, which eventually takes a toll on Evy, prompting her to focus on her podcast as a distraction.
The main plot of the movie begins when Justin tells Evy that he received a cryptic anonymous email with a handful of audio recordings and scrambled or backwards cryptic messages which the pair try to decrypt.
The audio recordings are taken by a boyfriend, Mike, who records his girlfriend, Jessa, sleeptalking in what sounds like a foreign language, but Jessa has no recollection of what she was saying.
Justin and Evy end the podcast abruptly after listening to the audio files and Evy begins hearing noises in her mother’s bedroom.
Still hearing noises, Evy studies the audio files to understand what Jessa and the email are saying. She realizes the messages are backwards and repeatedly mention an odd name, eventually finding out that Jessa is talking to a folklore demon.
Kiri’s portrayal of fear, remorse and sadness feels so real and moves the audience to truly understand the emotions she faces as her mother’s life comes to an unfortunate slow end.
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Her facial expressions make the film memorable, whether she is waiting for a response from her mother as she listens to phone calls or when she tunes into her podcast.
Many of the shots in the film are long in duration, which makes the audience anticipate when the next jumpscare is going to happen, but there are actually only a small amount of jumpscares within the film.
“Undertone” heavily relies on the creepyness of sounds rather than the element of surprise, so this is a great horror movie to watch for anyone who dislikes jumpscares.
Kiri’s performance is really what kept me interested because although she is the only consistent actor on screen, she makes the film feel complex.
This film genuinely had me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what was next for Evy and her mother.
The theme of guilt that surrounds Evy as a daughter and how that feeling grows with her fear about uncovering the truth about the audio files is my favorite part about the film because of the realistic portrayal of how grief can take over your life.
“Undertone” is the perfect embodiment of new age horror, differentiating itself from other horror movies that have come out recently with its unique use of audio, sound effects and minimal casting and setting.
Lexis Lovato is a beat reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on X @lovatolexis
