Undertone

Undertone (2025)

85% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 46 reviews)

Runtime: 93 minutes

Directed by: Ian Tuason

Starring: Most of the film, it’s just Nina Kiri

From: A24

It presumably wasn’t the intent of the filmmakers to have large pockets of the audience uproariously laugh in disbelief AT their movie for more than 30 seconds straight once the end credits hit, nor have people still chuckle & make negative comments minutes later! They clearly found Undertone to be—underwhelming.

I couldn’t bury the lede here; last night, AMC played this movie on their Dolby Cinema screens before its wide release debut on Friday the 13th. The trailer intrigued despite my mixed opinions on the films A24 either produce themselves or pick up for release. The crowd was decent in size and thankfully weren’t the disruptive folks I feared going in, especially for a movie that proved to be a slow burn, to use modern vernacular.

They reacted appropriately to certain moments. However, they evidently felt the same way I did, re: the final act and did not feel the destination was worthy of the journey the viewer went on. Their reaction is what I’ll first remember, re: Undertone. My issues with the movie were not related to its style, the ambiguity or the style of scares that were presented. I’ll attempt to explain why without revealing too much for those interested… yes, it will be a characteristic long-winded review.

Be that as it may, even after sleeping on it, I struggle with rating the movie. There was plenty I enjoyed, including the conceit that the film was sound-driven. I knew that from the trailer—I did NOT know that only one character was shown speaking & the only setting was the house she lived in w/ her invalid mother.

Another detail unknown to me: her mother was bedridden, comatose, and in the last days of her life. That brought uncomfortable memories of what happened to my late mother. Apologies for those that already recall past discussions of this but she was ill for the entirety of 2020 & was in hospice for far longer than predicted before passing away in late July. I wasn’t “triggered” and that detail doesn’t impact my rating. I do understand why lead character Evy did not have mom in hospice-it’s not cheap.

The plot that I haven’t even alluded to yet: Evy plays the skeptic role on a “true horrors” podcast with a random American dude living in London named Justin that’s a believer. They are anonymously e-mailed 10 different scary audio files of something spooky.

What I was a fan of: the lore intrigued, the sound design was thankfully aces, the subtle images that were or weren’t in the background, the film was patient (the way it was shot… let’s just say I was NOT shocked to read that director Ian Tuason was just announced as the guy who will be the director of the next Paranormal Activity), and while the movie is more “experience” than “story” (to steal a line), I was intrigued. As the lead that dominated the screen due to the story’s structure, Nina Kiri did a swell job as Evy.

Regrettably, I wasn’t the only one who felt that the story fell apart in the final act; they did NOT stick the landing. Moments did not make logical sense & made me realize that earlier moments probably shouldn’t be scrutinized either. I didn’t laugh riotously at the end credits-I was & still am more conflicted in my thoughts.

Even by A24 standards, I surmise that Undertone will be polarizing, whether by Joe Q. Public or Letterboxd members. I saw more than one comparison w/ a movie avoided by me… Skinamarink, or to rip off a term I’m mad at myself for not inventing, STINKAMARINK. And here I thought The Bride would be the only divisive genre movie released in March. I’ll be fascinated in reading the reviews starting Thursday night; for some, Undertone will greatly resonate with you.