Rating 5/10
Do you enjoy scary flicks that spend 80% of their runtime slowly building exposition, only to unload a dump of excitement in the final 20% that doesn’t make any sense? Well, have I got a movie for you!
Evy (Nina Kiri) is a young woman who returns to her childhood home to care for a comatose mother, known only as Mama (Michèle Duquet). Evy was raised in a strict Catholic household, and the home is still filled with religious iconography. She hosts a supernatural-themed podcast called “The Undertone” with her friend Justin (Adam DiMarco). They investigate alleged paranormal events. Justin is the believer. Evy is the doubter. That skepticism is challenged when Justin receives an anonymous email containing a series of eerie recordings made by a married couple, Mike (Jeff Yung) and Jessa (Keana Lyn Bastidas), documenting Jessa’s strange sleep-talking.
The production can most charitably be described as constrained. Evy is seen and heard, but never leaves the house. Podcast partner Justin is heard but never seen. And then there’s the mother, played by Michèle Duquet. Easily one of the least demanding roles I’ve ever seen, just lying there on a bed as a comatose patient. Occasionally, she’s shot from a distance and turns her head for effect to give the audience a scare. The plot is basically long stretches of people listening to audio files live on the podcast. As they listen, they react in real time. Evy puts on the headphones, and there’s some fun in teasing the audience: how much of what’s being heard is happening on the show, and how much might actually be happening in the house? It’s all about the sound design… and your patience. Listening to all ten of these voice logs is repetitive, even as things escalate.
The files reveal disturbing hidden messages when played backwards. Evy digs into their meaning and uncovers references to a demon from European folklore believed to prey on pregnant women and infants. Coincidentally, she is six weeks pregnant and soon begins experiencing unsettling occurrences in the house. Mama’s presence looms, even in her silent state. As the podcast investigation continues, the phenomena intensify. Evy and Justin amplify sections of the audio to uncover buried sounds, playing them in reverse while Googling in real time. It’s just as thrilling as it sounds, which is to say: not at all. Their research connects nursery rhymes like “London Bridge Is Falling Down” and “Baa Baa Black Sheep” to rituals used to summon the entity, a jealous force that targets expectant mothers.
A24 claims this is “the scariest movie you’ll ever hear!” Horror marketing keeps going back to the same well of The Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity. But here, the hype is scarier than the film. The sound design is decent, though. This plays better in a theater, where the voices can bounce around and feel like they’re coming from different parts of the cinema. It’s hard to imagine it being nearly as effective at home. The film builds a spooky mood through dim lighting and hushed voices. That minimalist approach can work when it’s done well. The mystery thriller Searching created that claustrophobia on computer screens rather effectively. Here, those restrictions don’t sell the story.
This production is a study in understatement. Until it’s not. In the tenth and final recording, predictably, things reach a breaking point. It turns into a full-on cacophony of supernatural chaos that I won’t get into for spoiler reasons. Needless to say, it’s more of an auditory experience than a visual one. It didn’t satisfy my demand for some finality to all the tedium I sat through. The climax relies heavily on ambiguity and ends on an underwhelming note. The picture is aptly titled Undertone, because it never rises above.
03-12-26