More often than not, if a horror movie has the A24 logo on it, chances are I am going to like it. I remember hearing quite a bit of buzz about Undertone and how it was trying to scare people with its sound design. That just sounded so weird to me. I honestly had a hard time getting my head around it… and honestly, even after seeing the movie, I am still not sure I get what people were saying. But, I can tell you, this was a fantastic time, and it sent more than a few shivers down my spine as I was watching it.
Where to Watch Undertone
Undertone was released on March 13, 2026. You can stream the film from a digital platform such as Prime Video or Apple TV.
The Movie Review
One thing I will say is that I had a hard time seeing this; my local l cinema (which is a Vue Cinema) was not showing this, so I had to travel a little further afield to see it. I ended up watching this on my own, and I am glad I made the effort to see this at the theatre. There was just me and a couple of other horror nerds in there, but when it ended, we had a little chat, and we all agreed that it was great.
Undertone Storyline and Paranormal Podcast Premise
The plot centers around a podcast. The Undertone podcast deals with paranormal cases, and one of the hosts, Evy, is a skeptic and Justin pretty much believes everything that he hears! The format of the podcast is that they will hear a paranormal case, and they discuss the details of it.
During an episode, Justin gets a strange email that contains ten audio files from a couple called Mike and Jessa. These are some weird files with Jessa talking in her sleep, some weird nursery rhymes, and other creepy and spooky sounds. Some of it is just like a mess of sounds, but when they are played in reverse, things get even creepier!
Psychological Horror Themes
Evy is not having the best time on a personal level. Evy has to look after her comatose mother, who we learn was a strict Catholic, and Evy also has another personal issue she is dealing with. It almost seems like these audio files were sent to Evy from a paranormal force. Hmm, I honestly cannot say too much more about the plot without going into spoiler territory, and you do not want that.
Undertone Sound Design and Theatre Experience
I saw the trailer for this, after I heard a little bit of the buzz it was generating so I went into Undertone pretty blindly, and I am so glad that I did! This was a real roller coaster; you could hear a pin drop in the cinema, and then when something would happen, one of the girls behind me let out more than one loud gasp. It was a fun situation to be in, and her freaking out kind of helped me manage my own fear, if that makes sense.
People are just raving about the clever use of sound in the movie, and I do get it to a degree, but I also will admit that I think there is something I am missing here. Sure, the sound was great, but I have also seen other horror movies that use sound to scare you. Hey, perhaps I was reading too much into this aspect of the movie.
Is Undertone Worth Watching?
Anyway, back on track, Undertone is a fantastic time, and from what I have heard and seen, it did not have a massive wide theatrical release, but it does appear to have made a ton of money, considering the modest budget. More than likely, this is not showing at your theatre as you read this, but I do highly recommend you watch this when it hits streaming. Just be sure not to be screwing around on your phone while you watch this. This movie needs and deserves your full attention!
