The Undertone is what I would consider the creepiest movie of the year. I haven’t felt that much unease in some time; I continued to think about the movie for days after. We had the opportunity to watch the movie during Fantasia Fest this year and were blown away by it. Director Ian Tuason is able to deliver an unnerving feeling that I hadn’t felt from a horror movie in some time. Check out the synopis for the film below.

A podcast host covering spooky content moves in to care for her dying mother. When sent recordings of a pregnant couple’s paranormal encounters, she discovers their story parallels hers, each tape pushing her toward madness.

The Undertone is a contained film that takes place in a singular location. It follows a podcast host, Evy (Nina Kiri) that gets haunted after listening to a particular audio file. Keana did an exceptional job at commanding scenes on her own throughout the majority of the film. You really get some great moments of the character clearly showing fear but trying to keep it together. Kris Holden Reid who plays Jessa’s co-host, Justin, is only present through his voice but is just as great. The film really does an amazing job at creating atmosphere in the first couple of minutes. You feel as if you are in the room with Evy and it makes you get goosebumps throughout. I really love when films utilize all of the senses to create scares and for The Undertone the strength is in its sound design.

We are listening in to these mysterious recordings that Jessa and Justin have been sent. They each get weirder and darker as we continue to listen in to them. Evy plays the skeptic in the show, but we clearly see that she is starting to get spooked by them as well. All of this adds more tension as to what is going on really. You can’t see what’s happening in these audio recordings and that leaves your imagination to run wild.

The film continues to build and build on this sense of dread we get from the recordings. Are they just a prank someone is pulling on the podcast or is there a real danger? You’re just waiting for the pop and the anticipation is what has you on the edge of your seat or covering your face. A lot of the framing in several scenes is deliberate and heightens the feeling that we aren’t safe. It’s such a small detail but so clever in making us much more terrified during the film. I do think the movie, however, gets a bit flimsy during its final act.

The Undertone for all of the great things it does in its first half starts to feel a bit “been there done that.” I love the setup we are provided with but I’m not sure once it concludes if it was executed as well. Once the film tries to explain what’s happened, it gets jumbled and I feel there’s more power in the unexplained. Overall, this is such a minor thing to me I will add because the rest of the film is so exceptional. It’s one of the few horror films I’ve seen that I genuinely felt terrified throughout and not just from cheap jump scares.

I highly recommend The Undertone to anyone who loves horror films. If you are especially interested in horror movies that use sound to their advantage this one is it. It’s the most unnerving movie of the year and has incredible atmosphere. A stellar performance from Keana Lyn Bastidas and intriguing framing. It’s also a clear example of how great it is when you just let the audience’s imagination run wild. Ian Tuason is definitely a director to keep an eye out for.