Pulled up to check out Undertone the second week of its release, and I got lucky! I went to a nighttime showing at my local AMC on a whim, and I had the dark theater all to myself. I didn’t know much about the movie except that a podcaster hears what she shouldn’t. That was enough for me. As a podcaster, I figured it would hit me harder than the general public. I was right! I enjoyed the film, although I know it won’t be for everyone.
Undertone relies heavily on sound design, leaving the visuals lacking, likely due to the budget. It’s also low on action. If you can’t get behind the sounds and slow-burn pacing, then you might not be entertained. I was unsettled when I left the theater, but I don’t have a full grip on the ending because the screen is mostly black for the climax. Still, there was plenty to appreciate with Undertone. It’s worth watching at home if you have a great sound system or decent headphones.
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The film follows Evy (Nina Kiri) as she cares for her mother (Michelle Duquet), while podcasting with her friend Justin (Adam DiMarco), who we never see. Their podcast investigates paranormal incidents. Evy seems to be the skeptic of the duo (you always have to have one), but Justin leans more into believing the supernatural. Their current episode involves investigating recordings sent from an anonymous email. First of all, that’s how you get viruses, yet they download and listen to the recordings.
This leads them down the path of finding hidden messages in children’s nursery rhymes. While the idea was interesting, I struggled to hear the hidden messages in the theater. My ears aren’t that great, admittedly. I loved following the journey of where the tapes led. I did not enjoy the side plot of Evy’s uncertainty about her pregnancy. When I got to the theater, I had no idea who wrote or directed the film. Within 30 minutes, I was sure men were involved due to the handling of the pregnancy plot.
I am on the fence about the lore. I have not seen many movies tackle Abyzou, but the way it was handled was off-putting. The protagonist’s pregnancy gives the plot a reason to introduce Abyzou, but it has no other weight. By the end of the movie, it is clear that Evy has descended into madness, but the movie barely lives in the deepest parts of madness. We see those crayon scrawlings for a few seconds at the end. While I’m going off of one viewing, I would have loved to see more of that woven into the story. Additionally, the most intense part of the movie is shrouded in darkness. We hear the chaos, but we don’t get a drop of it onscreen. I wanted to see it!
Listen!
Although the visuals aren’t a huge draw, the sound design is still worth mentioning. The sound kept me engaged the entire movie, even when the screen was pitch black. I personally resonated with every scene that involved noise-canceling headphones. There’s always a pinch of fear when I hear a noise through the noise-cancelation. It could be a dog barking or old pipes. It could also be a scream…or a demon. While I would have evaporated into a new location after the first weird sound, Evy wanted to stick by her mother, which is why we have a movie. Overall, Undertone is worth the watch, but the sound design carries the movie.
