Undertone Review
The importance of sound in movies is far from new. There is even an entire category at the Oscars dedicated to recognizing excellence in sound. However, films that rely entirely on sound to communicate their storyline are much less common. In the Canadian indie horror film Undertone, acquired by A24, the story centers on the aural experience of its main character: a podcaster named Evy (Nina Kiri).
Evy has returned to her childhood home to look after her mother (Michèle Duquet), who is in a coma and is nearing the end of her life. While staying there, Evy continues recording her paranormal podcast, The Undertone, which she co-hosts with her friend Justin (Adam DiMarco). Although Justin is an important part of the story, we never actually see him as he exists only through his voice.
Written and directed by Ian Tuason in his feature directorial debut, Undertone unfolds through what Evy hears and records, drawing the audience into a world shaped by sound (and even silence). Even when she puts on her headphones, the film lets the audience hear the shift in perspective by muffling the surrounding environment so that we hear what is directly coming through her headphones.
Evy is in the midst of recording the next episode of her podcast with Justin, who excitedly tells her he has something intriguing for them to explore. Justin explains that he received an anonymous e-mail containing ten mysterious recordings, accompanied by strange lettering and a cryptic message. They decide to listen to the recordings together and use them as the focus of their upcoming episode.
The recordings are of a couple, Jessa and Mike, beginning with Jessa talking in her sleep as Mike records their nights to prove it to her. But as the recordings continue, strange and unsettling occurrences emerge that Evy and Justin try to figure out. At first, Evy is skeptical, hoping she can debunk the events as a hoax, while Justin suspects something far darker, possibly even demonic. He also notices that, hidden in the recordings, children’s songs seem to be playing backwards, adding a very creepy element to them.
The film itself even highlights the importance of the sonic environment by only showing two characters on-screen: Evy and her mother. In one scene, Evy is in her mother’s bedroom speaking with a healthcare worker. The audience never sees this person as her presence is conveyed only through her voice. She explains to Evy that her mother is likely only a few days away from passing.
Additionally, when Evy asks how she will be able to tell when the end is near, the worker explains that she will be able to hear it in the changes in her mother’s breathing. This moment once again emphasizes the film’s focus on the aural experience. Evy then refers to the sound as the “death rattle,” a rattling or wet, gurgling noise you often hear when a person breathes through a buildup of saliva and mucus in the throat during the final hours or last few days of life.
As the story unfolds, Evy notices eerie things happening in her own home, leaving her unsure of what is real. Without giving anything away, the recordings’ recurring themes of motherhood and pregnancy strike a deep chord with her, making her increasingly sensitive and emotionally vulnerable to what she hears.
Undertone delivers a unique and innovative approach to the horror genre, leveraging the power of sound to generate suspense and unease. The result is a fully immersive experience that stays with the audience long after the film ends.
Rating: ★★★★☆
Undertone is now playing in theaters.
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