Psychological horror has been evolving for years, but Undertone takes the genre in a direction most horror films rarely dare to explore, fear-driven almost entirely by sound.
Directed by Ian Tuason in his feature debut, the 2026 horror film strips away flashy visuals and replaces them with unsettling audio design that slowly crawls under your skin.
The film follows Evy, a paranormal podcast host who returns home to care for her dying mother.
What begins as a quiet and emotional story about family responsibility soon turns into something much darker when Evy receives mysterious audio recordings from a couple claiming their house is haunted.
As she investigates the disturbing sounds, the line between reality and paranoia begins to blur.
Undertone is not the kind of horror movie that throws jump scares every five minutes. Instead, it builds tension through silence, whispers, and eerie recordings, creating an atmosphere that feels deeply unsettling.
Story
The narrative centers almost entirely on Evy, played by Nina Kiri, making the film feel like an intense one-woman psychological experience.
Most of the movie takes place inside her childhood home, where she cares for her nearly unresponsive mother while continuing to produce her paranormal podcast with her friend Justin.
Things start to spiral when Evy receives a set of audio recordings documenting strange supernatural events experienced by a married couple.
At first, the files sound like ordinary paranormal claims. But the more she listens, the more disturbing the recordings become. The noises begin to mirror strange occurrences happening inside her own home.
The film cleverly plays with the idea of audio pareidolia, the human tendency to hear patterns or voices in random sounds.
This concept becomes the backbone of the horror, as Evy starts questioning whether the sounds are truly supernatural or just her mind unraveling under stress.
Because most characters are heard only through recordings or phone calls, the audience is forced to experience the story the same way Evy does: through sound. This unique structure gives Undertone a claustrophobic and deeply immersive feel.
Performances
Nina Kiri carries the film almost entirely on her own shoulders, and she absolutely delivers. Her performance captures the exhaustion of caring for a dying parent while also portraying the creeping paranoia that slowly consumes her character.
Since Evy is often alone on screen, Kiri has to carry emotional scenes without much interaction. She manages to make the character feel authentic and vulnerable, grounding the film even when the story leans into supernatural horror.
The supporting cast, including Adam DiMarco as Justin and Michèle Duquet as Evy’s mother, appears mostly through voice recordings or limited scenes, but they still contribute to the eerie atmosphere surrounding Evy’s unraveling world.
Sound Design: The Real Star
If there is one thing that truly defines Undertone, it’s the sound design.
Rather than relying on visual horror, the film uses distorted whispers, reversed nursery rhymes, faint breathing, and unsettling ambient noises to create tension. Every day sounds like a ticking clock, or a boiling kettle suddenly feels threatening.
This audio-driven approach makes the film incredibly immersive. Watching it with good speakers or headphones dramatically enhances the experience, as many of the scares come from subtle directional sounds rather than obvious jump scares.
It’s a bold, creative choice that makes Undertone stand out from most modern horror films.
The Good
The film’s strongest element is its atmosphere. The slow pacing allows the dread to build naturally, creating a creeping sense of unease that sticks with you long after the credits roll.
The emotional layer of the story, dealing with grief, caregiving, and loneliness, also adds depth to the horror. Evy’s psychological breakdown never feels random because the film carefully builds the emotional pressure surrounding her life.
The minimalist setting also works surprisingly well. By limiting the locations and characters, the film keeps the focus on the psychological tension rather than spectacle.
The Bad
While the first half of the film is incredibly effective, the second half becomes slightly messy. The story introduces several horror tropes and symbolic elements that feel less subtle compared to the film’s earlier psychological approach.
You might also find the slow pacing difficult. This is a quiet horror film that demands patience, and audiences expecting constant scares might feel underwhelmed.
The climax also leans a bit too heavily into ambiguity, which may divide viewers depending on how they interpret the ending.
Verdict
Undertone is a bold and creative horror film that proves how powerful sound can be in storytelling. It may not deliver the typical adrenaline rush of mainstream horror movies, but it offers something far more unsettling, a slow descent into paranoia fueled entirely by what you hear rather than what you see.
For fans of atmospheric horror and psychological thrillers, Undertone is definitely worth experiencing.
TechGamesNews Rating: 7.5 / 10
