254. UNDERTONE (2026) dir. Ian Tuason

UNDERTONE is best watched within two visual extremes: a movie theater and a laptop. What remains the same in those two instances is the intended environment: no distractions, enveloped by sound, whether from a Dolby Atmos sound system or a good pair of over-the-ear headphones.

This is a movie where what you hear is the star of the show and what you see sets the stage for you to have no escape from some disturbing terror.

Evy (Nina Kiri) is the host of horror podcast The Undertone, joined by best friend and co-host Justin (Adam DiMarco). One night, Justin shares an anonymous email received that features 10 different audio files. The files tell the story of a married couple seemingly experiencing a haunting. Typical fare for skeptic Evy but as the audio unfurls, she notices her environment growing a little darker, spookier than normal.

Tuason is currently tapped to direct the next PARANORMAL ACTIVITY installment but I've no idea how he'll top what's done here. UNDERTONE is simple, predictable, even, but handled with such care and elegance that the result remains the same: a nail-biter of a haunted house movie that left me walking out of the theater with residue chills. This is a - great - fucking movie.

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UNDERTONE is now available to watch in select theaters or on PVOD.

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