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undertone

Play trailer 1:29 Poster for undertone R Now Playing 1h 25m Horror Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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72% Tomatometer 148 Reviews 50% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Verified Ratings
The host of a popular paranormal podcast is sent hidden messages within anonymous recordings, unleashing a demonic presence that is impossible to escape.
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undertone

undertone

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Critics Consensus

Masterfully using negative space and unsettling audio to build its creeping dread, undertone erupts as a diabolically immersive aural nightmare.

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Audience Says

Despite an original premise and an effective unsettling atmosphere undertone delivers a somewhat muted horror experience that may appeal to fans of slow-burn, moody fare.

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Critics Reviews

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Coleman Spilde Salon.com Mar 20
Minimalism and maximalism can’t coexist, at least not here. Instead, “Undertone” is like getting to the climactic moment of your favorite horror podcast, only to have the terrifying impetus interrupted by a Squarespace ad. Go to Full Review
Maxwell Rabb Chicago Reader Mar 19
As Undertone crescendoed through its final act, I found myself pleading for Evy to thrust off her headphones. But Tuason’s successfully nerve-racking film relentlessly suffocates within its inescapable, eerie soundscape. Go to Full Review
Katie Walsh Tribune News Service Mar 18
3/4
Tuason conducts "Undertone" to a fever pitch, a maelstrom of sound and fury that is spookily effective, if frustratingly nonspecific. Go to Full Review
Alan Zilberman Spectrum Culture 3d
4/5
What makes all this so effective is the overwhelming patience. With limited resources, it has no choice but to heighten the audience’s collective anticipatory anxiety. Go to Full Review
Cain Noble-Davies FILMINK (Australia) Mar 28
14/20
… legitimately terrifying to watch. Go to Full Review
Jeffrey M. Anderson Common Sense Media Mar 27
4/5
This unique horror movie relies largely on clever sound design and a limited setting, but it still conjures up a world of sympathetic characters, a strong story, and spine-chilling scares. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Bryce 4h Interesting topic that could have potential for something to really get under your skin, but just didn't have enough substance to make it feel worth while watching. I understand that the production may have had a relatively small budget to work with, so filming solely in one location makes sense, but it didn't feel like there was someone behind the camera that had a really good idea of where to point that camera ahead of time. There were more than a few times that the camera would intentionally leave space around and behind the actor where you are probably meant to think something is going to appear or happen. But time and time again, nothing happened, making it seem as though they were attempting to get your anticipation up and for something to finally happen that would subvert the expectations they were setting themselves, but that kind of payoff never really materialized in any kind of meaningful way. There were also times where the camera would use Dutch angles for seemingly no reason other than it was a different way to hold the camera for scenes where the same thing kept happening again and again. It just felt like the filmmakers were still learning as they were going with this one, which is fine and honestly more power to them, but it was disappointing that there weren't a few more truly inspired people working on this one, because it really did seem like a great idea in theory. The story itself was also pretty bland and it felt like it came secondary to the "vibes" it was going for. Nothing wrong with that, but it just didn't really work for me in the end. Felt like it would have been a great short film to put up online for people to watch, but a full length film in theaters was maybe a bit too ambitious for what they had to work with. One area that they did a truly fantastic job, and probably the biggest reason I'm glad I saw this in theaters, was the sound design throughout. With every whisper, or creaking floor, or audio from the podcast, they did an absolutely fantastic job at immersing me into the experience as-if I were the one wearing the headphones throughout. Had I waited to watch this until it came to streaming, I'm sure I would have enjoyed it a whole lot less because the sound would never come close to the theaters. All-in-all, glad I saw it in theaters, but had really hoped for a little more. Sucks because the marketing before this release had gotten me pretty excited to see it. See more GrettaBella 16h Real disappointment. Not scary nor suspenseful. See more Tristin 17h scariest movie I've seen so far See more Eden 19h Slow paced creepy movie. Not your typical horror movie, not always scary per say but definitely crawls under your skin. If you like seeing ghosts and monsters and feeling like your characters are in danger this isn't the movie for you. This spends most of the time lingering on dark corners without ever showing anything. This movie leaves the scares up to your imagination. The ending scene literally is black with only audio. Creepy, slow, metaphoric, open to interpretation. See more Darby 1d Kept you on your toes from start to finish. See more karina 1d This movie was by far the worst fucken movie I got robbed with this movie all for at end to not say how the mom died or how the girl got possessed what a waste of time of money i should’ve seen Mario instead of this crap See more Read all reviews
undertone

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Movie Info

Synopsis The host of a popular paranormal podcast is sent hidden messages within anonymous recordings, unleashing a demonic presence that is impossible to escape.
Director
Ian Tuason
Producer
Cody Calahan, Dan Slater
Screenwriter
Ian Tuason, Ian Tuason
Distributor
A24
Production Co
Black Fawn Films
Rating
R
Genre
Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 13, 2026, Wide
Runtime
1h 25m
Sound Mix
Dolby Atmos
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