A24's Buzzy New Horror Movie Is A Rare Movie That Absolutely Needs To Be Experienced In Theaters

18 hours ago 1

Bill Dubiel is a veteran writer, editor, and college professor based in Buffalo, NY. He has been a Senior Writer with Screen Rant since 2023. You can usually find him at a late-night double feature including the newest horror movie and latest Oscar bait.

A24 has a celebrated resume of exceptional horror movies, but its latest offering brings something completely new to the table. Ian Tuason's paranormal horror movie Undertone has been building steam in the horror community since its award-winning premiere at the 2025 Fantasia International Film Festival, and with the release of its ultra-creepy first trailer, it appears the hype is justified.

Starring Nina Kiri (The Handmaid's Tale), Undertone follows podcaster Evy, a skeptic who partners with a believer (Kris Holden-Ried) on a paranormal podcast. Evy moves home to take care of her dying mother, and immerses herself in a set of eerie recordings sent to her anonymously, yielding increased fear, paranoia, and disturbing occurrences.

The execution of a semi-familiar concept is where Undertone seems like it will really shine. The unique approach to how the audience experiences the paranormal activity is what can take Undertone above and beyond other similarly-conceived movies like White Noise, Pulse, or Frequency, and essentially makes a theater viewing a requirement to properly experience it.

Undertone Seems Entirely Dependent On High-Quality Sound

One of the unique features of Undertone is that its main character, Evy, is reportedly the only character to appear on-screen. Her podcast cohost and other individuals are only represented as off-screen voices, meaning we as the audience are intimately in tune with Evy's point of view. Most of the movie's terror and dread will be derived from the audio that Evy's listening to, which we will experience alongside her as the plot progresses.

As a result, the immersive surround sound of a modern theater will allow you to experience the disturbing sound effects that aid Evy's descent into fear. Trying to watch the movie on a phone or even on a TV at home without any sort of surround sound simply won't give the same experience as what you'll get in a theater, which will likely lessen the movie's overall impact.

Immersive Sound Is One Of The Most Effective Means Of Creating Terror

Truly brilliant sound manipulation is one of the most effective means of scaring a human being; it's pure biological science at work. Sudden loud noises, unnerving silences, and dissonant bursts of music are all hallmarks of excellent horror because it essentially hijacks the brain's fear center, triggering the same flight response that's been present since our hunter-gatherer days.

Undertone's trailer gives us a taste of how that sound manipulation will occur: unsettling off-key children's rhymes, disturbing whispers, drawn-out silences, and shocking clashes of noise. While the visuals will no doubt help in creating a holistic horror experience, it's clear that the heavy lifting will be done by how Ian Tuason and his team are able to put you in Evy's head using sound, which should make Undertone a can't-miss theatrical outing.