We recently headed to Cineworld for a Secret Screaming, which turned out to be the new movie Undertone.
A podcast host (Nina Kiri) covering spooky content moves in to care for her dying mother. When sent recordings of a pregnant couple’s paranormal encounters, she discovers their story parallels hers, each tape pushing her toward madness—the revolutionary, immersive soundscape horror from iconic studio A24.
Undertone was one of those movies that I wasn’t really sure about. I had heard a lot about its use of sound to scare the viewer, but could it really be that scary? I’ve seen the taglines saying that, “It’s the scariest film you will ever hear”.
I love horror movies, and many of you who read the articles here on Blazing Minds will have seen that we cover lots of the horror releases as well as horror events, so my interest in Undertone was piqued when I heard people talking about it.
OK, so let’s get on to my review of Undertone, for starters the cast is small in this production. This is where the film works, as you become pulled into their story, as they are the ones who are taking you on this supernatural journey.
Undertone is an extremely slow-burning movie; nothing really happens for a long time, and you do wonder if anything is going to suddenly jump out at you. I fear that what is in the movie is not so much what is happening visually, although there are some great scenes set up that have nice touches, such as Evy (Nini Kiri) centre screen, and the camera slowly moves her to the right as we see a dark doorway, is there something there, or is your mind playing tricks on you!
Now, for me, I didn’t find the film scary; it moves at a pace that builds up some tension, but it’s not until we get towards the end of the film that the real weirdness kicks in. The use of the children’s rhymes is very creepy, and it does get you thinking, did you hear the message in the rhymes as they are played backwards or is your subconscious just making you hear something! It’s much like looking at patterns long enough and then seeing a face.
What really stood out to me, besides the use of the dark with the cinematography, is the sound mix. The use of the 5.1 really works to give you goosebumps, you are taken into Evy’s world as she puts on her headphones to record her podcast, and the unsettling mix of sound coming from all around uts you smack bang in the middle.
Although Undertone is a slow burner, it works for the content, and although the last act does go a bit mad, it all works for some that does give you shivvers and makes you really think about those children’s rhyme!
Undertone is out in the UK on April 10th courtesy of Vertigo Releasing.
A New Slow-Burning Horror
Movie title: Undertone
Movie description: The host of a popular paranormal podcast becomes haunted by terrifying recordings mysteriously sent her way.
Country: UK
Duration: 1h 34
Director(s): Ian Tuason
Actor(s): Nina Kiri, Adam DiMarco, Michèle Duquet, Keana Lyn Bastidas, Jeff Yung
Genre: Folk Horror, Psychological Horror, Monster Horror
Summary
Undertone is a slow-burning horror film that plays with your mind more than it scares you!
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.