OVERVIEW
“Hear, don’t show” may as well be the philosophy behind undertone, a tightly contained Canadian horror film in which sound becomes the primary weapon of terror. It takes place entirely in one house, where Evy, a young podcaster, cares for her dying mother while hosting a paranormal podcast with Justin, whom we hear but never see. When he sends her an email containing ten audio clips recorded by a husband who suspects his wife is possessed by a demon, Evy starts to suspect that what they are listening to might be closer to her than it first seemed.
BACKGROUND
The film marks the feature debut of Canadian writer and director Ian Tuason, and it premiered at Fantasia in July 2025, where it won the Gold Audience Award for Canadian films. It was quickly acquired by A24 in a seven-figure deal (truly impressive for a $500,000 film shot in the director’s own home). The studio also retitled it from The Undertone to undertone, because lowercase is cool, recast at least two voice roles, and prepared a new Dolby Atmos mix to enhance the original sound design.
EXECUTION
On the surface, it is a straightforward horror film that draws on familiar genre territory, elevated by the ten-clip structure, the lead performance, and Tuason’s smart use of sound. In this case, sharp execution is enough to turn what could have been a run-of-the-mill horror film into a memorable one, especially as it reaches a genuinely unnerving climax.
Ian Tuason’s direction is the key here. He is able to sustain long scenes in which we are basically watching Nina Kiri listen to a podcast or walk through her house, scenes that grow increasingly frightening. He shoots those scenes with long takes, alternating well between prolonged medium shots and extreme close-ups. It is not revolutionary stuff, but it is accomplished with precision, especially in making the podcast recording sessions feel suffocating as they go on and creating relief when we realize they are about to take a break. We feel like something is creeping in and getting closer, even as we never see it.
Nina Kiri is up to the task of carrying the entire film, commanding the many close-up shots and convincingly conveying her character’s growing paranoia. Her arc is rather generic, and there is not much to her on paper to latch onto, yet she keeps us invested in her well-being. DiMarco also does good work on his even more token character. Together, the two make the premise work, and we never ask why they keep playing the next clip.
Keeping the interest is the podcast’s content itself, which uses subliminal messages from songs, tapping sounds, and sinister demon voices. Thankfully, Tuason rarely gives in to jump scares, investing instead in background dread, where the eye keeps wandering around the frame looking for what feels off. It becomes a fun exercise.
Tuason has said he was inspired by The Babadook, among other films, and it is clear that he is trying to create a “daughter” version of that film. Yet it is in those thematic moments that the film fails to fully impress. It struggles to connect Evy’s guilt with her fears of becoming a mother herself, with the clips they are listening to, and with the antagonist. A moment when Evy finally voices an emotion she has been repressing for a long time is meant to be that bridge, yet what she says is easily telegraphed and feels like it should have come earlier. That leaves the pivotal moment without the fuller character shift it needs. Because of that, especially compared to that Australian gem, the climax lands as a pure genre exercise, and a very effective one at that, rather than reaching the psychological dread that defines the best of the genre.
AFTERTASTE
More than anything, undertone sets up Ian Tuason as a horror director to watch and Nina Kiri as an effective scream queen. Both turn a very self-contained film into an effective horror film, with immersive sound design, a captivating atmosphere, and a fantastic climax. A better screenplay, one more confident in its themes, could have turned it into something truly special. Hopefully, that is what awaits Tuason and Kiri next.