With a Catholic upbringing, a terminal, bedbound mother, and a childhood of unanswered prayers, it seems only natural that Evy would start a podcast debunking the paranormal. But when she is sent 10 audio files — which when played in succession are rumoured to summon the demon Abyzou (legendary in European and Eastern folklore for causing miscarriages and the deaths of children) — Evy is forced to confront the ghosts of her past, as well as the one swallowing her home.
Welcome to Undertone: a ‘found audio’ horror, and a fresh, cinematically polished spin on the woefully saturated found-footage subgenre. Originally created by Ian Tuason (making his directorial debut) as a radio drama before being transformed into a screenplay led wholly by sound design, it asks the question: can terror be projected solely through what we hear, and how that makes us feel?
The answer? Almost.
You could certainly criticise this picture for a lack of action, but the soundscape (and the silences that punctuate it) is so effective you’ll find yourself conjuring your own spectres in the shadowy corridors of Evy’s home, which grows increasingly distorted, darkened, and inverted.
Where Undertone suffers, however, is its plot line, which, beyond Evy’s backstory, feels like an afterthought. Sounds are layered, shots are reiterated, Chekhov’s guns are planted — yet they aren’t used. All that’s left is a deflating sense of inevitability where, unlike the similarly audio-centric Sana and Sana: Let Me Hear, it never feels like Evy has a chance of breaking her curse.
In short, Undertone might leave you feeling underwhelmed, but despite its flaws, it keeps you (quite literally) on the edge of your seat. Just make sure you watch it with friends in the cinema (ideally with 360 audio). That way, it’s like a rickety funfair ghost train: nowhere near as frightening as you hoped or imagined, but you’ll still be glad you went along for the ride.
DISTRIBUTOR
Vertigo / A24
DIRECTOR
Ian Tuason
SCREENPLAY
Ian Tuason
CAST
Nina Kiri
Adam DiMarco
Michèle Duquet
CINEMA
10 April 2026
