2026 already appears to be like like an unbelievable 12 months for horror, following within the footsteps of what turned out to be an all-timer in 2025. One of many 12 months’s earlier can’t-miss authentic films is Undertone, the buzzy new supernatural horror from A24. Ever since its award-winning debut at 2025’s Fantasia Worldwide Movie Competition, hype has been constructing for what many are claiming is a legitimately special approach for the style.
Undertone follows a mystical podcaster who strikes again dwelling to deal with her dying mom. After being despatched recordings to investigate because the resident skeptic on her podcast, she begins to have her personal paranormal experiences. In a singular twist, the principle character Evy (Nina Kiri) is the one character who seems on-screen, and nearly all of the motion happens in a single location (her mom’s dwelling).
Director Ian Tuason spoke with Selection about how he developed Undertone, and the weather that go into making an impartial horror film. He particularly pointed to an iconic horror film from which he drew inspiration whereas establishing a tone, and it ought to make any horror fan extra enthusiastic about Undertone.
Undertone Attracts Inspiration From The Exorcist
Director Ian Tuason shot Undertone primarily in his dwelling, and in consequence needed to come to phrases with the phobia he was constructing at each flip. That close-to-home nature of the film’s manufacturing was born out of self-reflection about what scared Tuason himself.
“I used to be making an attempt to determine why ‘The Exorcist’ scared me a lot since I used to be a bit child,” he says. “I figured it was as a result of it took the most secure place and factor on the planet and weaponized it, by way of a daughter at dwelling. I used to be making an attempt to determine for the longest time, ‘How may I discover one thing safer after which weaponize that?’
What unraveled the unique viewers of The Exorcist was the juxtaposition of unspeakable evil and pure innocence, because the corruption of a younger lady was performed for max impact. In that very same vein, Tuason’s new film juxtaposes the security and luxury of a childhood dwelling and a mum or dad with the paranoia and worry of a supernatural haunting.
Sound Design Is Key To The Creepiness Of Undertone And The Exorcist
Undertone may even observe in The Exorcist‘s footsteps in its use of sound to elicit worry. A few of The Exorcist‘s most memorable moments are carried by their sound design, like Regan’s head snapping round backwards, the scampering of her fingers and toes within the spider pose, or the otherworldly voice that emanates from inside her. It is what takes The Exorcist a step additional, attacking one other sense totally along with the terrifying on-screen imagery.
Undertone will rely much more closely on sound design for its scares. Based mostly on how reliant the narrative is on haunting sounds, Undertone principally begs to be considered in theaters, as Tuason mimics the expertise of noise-canceling headphones. The viewers is supposed to expertise the paranormal recordings proper alongside Evy, which is a part of Undertone‘s distinctive hook.
Loads of fashionable horror films draw comparisons to the classics, however Undertone appears as if it has been genuinely impressed—not by the storyline or monster, however by the emotional basis of its horror model. If early on-line hype is any indication, it has true sleeper hit potential.
- Launch Date
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March 13, 2026
- Runtime
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84 minutes
- Director
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Ian Tuason
Forged
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Kristen Holden-Ried
Justin
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