Undertone
Every now and then comes a horror film that really speaks to your personal fears and triggers your fight-or-flight response in a way that only real-life danger can. You leave the cinema unsettled, locking your car doors immediately and looking too often in your rear view mirror. When you get home you whack on every light in the house, make yourself a nice hot drink and watch some comfort programming (like The Simpsons or a Real Housewives Reunion episode) so that the last thing on your mind before you go to bed isn’t the thought that something’s gonna get ya. Unfortunately for me, Undertone – the new indie horror from A24 – is not that film. Pity, as I dearly love to be scared.
Evangeline ‘Evy’ Babic (Nina Kiri) is living in her dying mother’s home providing care in her final stretch. It’s a beautiful vintage house adorned in Catholic iconography – the perfect setting for a horror film, and for reasons that go beyond aesthetics (I’ll get to them later). Her mum is bed bound and comatose and the nurse says that any day could be her last. Evy wonders aloud if she’ll need to keep an ear out for her ‘death rattle’ and she’s primed to do so; she’s a horror podcaster, after all.
The film’s title comes from this podcast. Evy functions as the skeptic and her pod co-host Justin (Adam DiMarco in voice only), the believer. Each episode, the pair reports on a supernatural story; Evy pokes holes in the logic and makes the hoax argument while Justin takes the Fox Mulder approach. It’s a classic setup with one logistical problem: Justin lives in London, which is a completely different time zone to Evy and which conveniently necessitates her working on the show at around 3am (aka the witching hour). The pair also seem to only work on an episode in 10-minute stints, a practice that is surely not efficient but I’m assuming would be quite boring to watch if done in real time, so we must suspend our disbelief.
Because of this way of working, we spend the majority of the film in the dark with Evy at the most ungodly time of the night, in a lovely house of death decorated by pictures of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. To make things even less comfortable, this episode of the podcast focuses on an anonymous email that Justin received containing a random string of letters and ten audio files featuring a couple going through some seemingly paranormal strife. As we listen to each, podcast audio blends into ambient sound and themes from the recordings bleed into Evy’s personal circumstances.
The film’s trailer, along with its on-paper appeal as an audio-based supernatural horror, shot my expectations sky high. I haven’t been genuinely terrified in the cinema since seeing Hereditary eight years ago and I’ve been desperately chasing the rush and consistently let down each time a possible contender fails to get me off. Despite seeing Undertone in a sparsely attended 9pm session, I remain unafraid. But it’s not for lack of trying.
Undertone has a checklist of things that (should, and might) make you go AHHHH: a dark and lived-in setting, house tour cinematography that suggests a presence, a comatose old lady that doesn’t seem so comatose, creepy children’s nursery rhymes played in reverse, cooked crayon drawings, unplanned pregnancy, talk of maternal infanticide and all manner of demons (real or otherwise). The entirety of the film takes place within the house and though Evy does leave once, we are confined, stuck in this situation until its inevitable horror movie ending.
For some, this combination of elements will be effective and frightening. My cinema companions both enjoyed the film more than I did and found it scarier than I did. My lazy theory is that they’re men, so the distinctly feminine threat is more alien and therefore shocking to them. A more likely conclusion is that horror is deeply subjective and personal circumstances can greatly inform responses, and as someone with precisely zero maternal aspirations, I failed to see the real danger in Evy’s plight. I don’t think it’s a performance issue – Nina Kiri is fine and convincing for the most part – I think I just struggled to relate or care. Add in the fact that I’m thoroughly desensitised to creepy kid songs and religious iconography being scary (I’ve developed a real affinity for Catholic art lately) and it’s not that surprising that I left the film feeling a bit untouched.
What’s especially disappointing to me about Undertone is that the lore behind it should’ve strengthened its scare factor and added to its authenticity. It is the directorial debut of Canadian filmmaker Ian Tuason, whose personal life matches Evy’s in several ways. Firstly, the film is shot in the actual home where Tuason’s parents died. Secondly, he spent the beginning of 2020 caring for his parents, both of whom had cancer and would eventually lose their battles in the following years. Tuason and Evy also share a complicated relationship with Catholicism and alcohol, themes I would’ve liked to see explored in more depth.
For me, these similarities exist more from happenstance than intention and it’s a concept that I think would’ve worked better with more limitations in place. That the project began as a radio play is interesting and hints at a more disciplined, impactful execution nestled somewhere within. While I think the production design and sense of place that the house provides are visually pleasing (especially for a lover of vintage interiors and decor), I’m not sure they add much to the atmosphere and if anything, might detract from the impact of the sound design.
I do wonder if watching the film at home with headphones would’ve provided a more immersive audio experience and heightened the suspense. I guess I’ll never know; you only get one first impression and I suspect Undertone is not the kind of film that benefits from multiple visits. All things considered, I probably won’t be revisiting.
