Undertone
Undertone
Starring Nina Kiri, Michele Duquet, Adam DiMarco, Keana Lyn Bastidas
Directed by Ian Tuason
Evy (Nina Kiri) is a pregnant woman who is living with her terminally ill mother (Michele Duquet) and has pretty much shut out the world around her, except her horror podcast she does with her friend Justin (Adam DiMarco) over the phone. The podcast, called "undertone," focuses on different true-life horror events that Justin is a believer in, but Evy is a skeptic. For their newest episode, Justin receives an email containing ten audio clips of young couple Jessa (Keana Lyn Bastidas) and Mike (Jeff Yung) who experience terrifying unexplained events in their home during Jessa's pregnancy. As the two listen to more tapes, events begin occurring in Evy's home that makes her think that there could be something supernatural happening.
The Good:
In an overly saturated genre, you need a hook to really draw people in. "Undertone" advertises that it'll be the scariest movie you've ever heard because it focuses on auditory rather than visual (but that doesn't mean there's not some truly terrifying visuals as well), and in doing so it almost requires you to watch in a full Dolby-surround sound theater or noise-cancellation headphones at home to get the full effect. Our theater didn't have such sound so I feel like I missed out on some things, and I'm excited to eventually watch it at home with headphones to get even more spooked. As it was, I did find myself feeling unnerved by the end of it.
The movie focuses on a skeptic and how she meanders her understanding of the supernatural, especially as she listens to the different tapes and the effects they have in her world. She's already mentally frazzled in taking care of her dying mother, but upon discovering she's pregnant it only exasperates her already fragile state. Generally, this is the perfect time for demonic possession to occur, which seems to be happening as she's haunted by visions and, most notably, sounds that make her more isolated and crazed. Nina Kiri - as one of only two actual actors we see on screen - gives a compelling performance since the movie is essentially only her on screen, with the other being Michele Duquet's mother who spends the majority of the movie in bed in a catatonic state.
Director Ian Tuason and cinematographer Graham Beasley do their magic in making the movie seem as scary as can be with it taking place entirely in the house (which, by the way, is Tuason's family home). The camera tilts, sometimes slightly, and has long tracking shots that traverses the seemingly nearly-abandoned home in such a claustrophobic way you feel like you're stick there with them. While Evy is participating in her recording, the camera oftentimes keeps her to the side while focusing on a dark hallway or stairwell that leaves you squinting, thinking you're seeing something in the darkness. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don't, but soon you find yourself seeing more than what is probably there because our minds are conditioned to see human shapes when there aren't any.
The audio clips are a mystery in themselves, and it's intriguing to the audience to try and solve it along with Evy and Justin. What is happening with Jessa and Mike? Each audio recording gets more and more frightening, involving chanting, children talking, and backwards nursery rhymes that sends chills up your spine. It's interesting how something as innocent as "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and "London Bridge" can illicit such scare responses, especially when played backwards.
The final thirty minutes of the film really lets loose and intensifies the audio and visual horrors to a ten, leaving viewers - myself included - feeling creeped out and unnerved by what they have just witnessed. Twists abound in the final moments that leave you wanting to uncover more and do some deep digging online for hidden meanings and thoughts about the movie.
The Bad:
If you see this movie in a theater that doesn't have adequate sound, or at home with less-than-stellar sound quality, you won't fully appreciate the movie for what it has to offer. It's also a slow burn, with events happening sporadically, and it demands your full, undivided attention - so playing on your phone isn't an ideal thing to do while watching.
The Verdict:
Setting itself apart with its auditory horror, "Undertone" offers a unique tale that focuses on religious horror, the horrors of being a mother, and dealing with the incoming death of a loved one - all while creeping you out from the first frame to the last.
The Score: A-
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