Club Benefits
- Rating: ★★½ stars
- Verdict: "Undertone" delivered a trailer full of promise and auditory delight. But while the movie manages to deliver thrills and chills, giving me goosebumps on several occasions, it's a slow burn that only delivers on its sensory potential at the movie's very end. Along the way, you have to sit through a surprisingly run-of-the-mill story, delivering an ultimately unsatisfying experience despite the clear filmcraft on display.
- Where to watch: See "Undertone" in theaters now
"Undertone" wasn't a movie on my radar to start the year. Despite gaining considerable buzz at the 29th Fantasia International Film Festival last year, my first encounter with this horror movie was when A24 dropped a trailer for it a few months ago.
But then I saw the movie, and walking out of the theater I was conflicted. On the one hand, I had been undeniably spooked. Not bolt-out-of-my-chair spooked, but the tension this movie builds, along with a few attempts at a jump scare, definitely had me feeling goosebumps, chills and heart palpitations. On the other hand, at other points in the movie, I was bored, waiting to see when the build-up would finally pay off.
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It does finally pay off ... mostly. The ending does finally send things straight to hell, and delivers some spatial audio soundstaging that utilizes the large format Dolby Cinema's Dolby Atmos sound system to its fullest. But up until that point, I'd be lying if I said "Undertone" produced any auditory excitement that couldn't have been replaced by my Sonos soundbar or Sony headphones. And I'd sat through a story that was surprisingly run-of-the-mill for "the scariest movie you'll ever hear."
Malcolm has been with Tom's Guide since 2022, and his favorite horror movie from the past 10 years is "Barbarian."
'Undertone' has unique qualities but a story you've seen before
"Undertone" centers around Evy (Nina Kiri), who has moved back home to become the caregiver to her dying mother (Michèle Duquet). Those are the only two people we see the entire movie. The other main character is Evy's friend Justin (Adam DiMarco), with whom she hosts a paranormal podcast where she is the resident skeptic and he is the true believer.
Their podcast, aptly titled "The Undertone," dives into the spooky. In a previous week, they looked at and discussed a video of a woman's face that led to dozens killing themselves after watching it. That's the only other face we see in the movie, and one that shows up again at the film's hellish end. I have my theories about why, but I'll save those so as not to spoil the movie.
At any rate, their podcast episode of the week, where the movie picks up, is one where Evy and Justin are examining audio files sent to them from a stranger that turn out to be recordings from a couple who were hearing paranormal noises in their home.
At this point, we've got an interesting set-up for the rest of the movie. It's largely a two-hander where we don't even see the second actor, making the movie heavily reliant on Kiri's acting, which physically and emotively impresses but isn't always served by the dialogue in the script. Between that and the audio files being the key to this journey into darkness, we should be in store for something special.
But then the story kicks in and ultimately, "Undertone" comes off as just another tale of people messing with forces they don't understand and inviting a demon into their lives. Unsurprisingly, it ends poorly for them, but it left me underwhelmed with a movie whose sound design I was hoping would cause me to descend into madness.
Verdict: You can wait to see 'Undertone' if you have a good home theater
As I've already said, for a movie promising to deliver a scary-sounding movie in addition to some horror, I was largely underwhelmed by its use of the Dolby Cinema theater. I'll fully concede that a movie theater will always sound better than a home theater, and that in the movie's climactic scene, auteur director Ian Tuason does use the soundstage Dolby Atmos can provide to its full effect.
But a Dolby Cinema ticket could run you more than $20, and that's just for a ticket. That's not taking into account every other expense that goes into a night at the movies. I got lucky that I was offered a screening to see "Undertone," but knowing what I know now, I wouldn't say it's a movie I absolutely recommend you see in theaters. It's a fine movie that will deliver for some horror fans — it's currently rated 83% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, so I'm clearly a minority dissenting opinion — but I think if you have a decent TV and sound system, you can wait for it to hit one of the best streaming services (likely HBO Max).
"Undertone" is in theaters now
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