Undertone 2026 Review: The Scariest Sound-Driven Horror of the Year?

Ian Tuason has proven his expertise in one-room horror via Undertone. He seems to be an apt choice to direct Paranormal Activity 8, with James Wan producing the franchise reboot.​

Our Undertone 2026 review breaks down whether the film deserves your time on the big screen.

Plot details of Undertone (2026)​

Evy (played by Nina Kiri) recently moved to her sickly mother’s house to take care of her. Evy also runs a paranormal podcast and is sent 10 audio recordings of a pregnant couple one day.

Her podcast co-host, Justin (Adam DiMarco), is someone who believes in the paranormal stuff, while Evy doesn’t. They are reasoning over the podcast on whether the sound recordings of the couple are fake or not.​

While being on that, Evy is constantly on the lookout for her mother or something else in her house, as she is forced into her own inescapable, frightful fate.​

Watch the chilling trailer here:​

Actors’ performances in Undertone (2026)​

Since Nina Kiri, as Evy, is essentially carrying the entire film on her shoulders, it makes sense to start with her performance. I found it captivating to watch her facial expressions as she listened to those ten recordings—it really pulled me in.

Her portrayal felt incredibly natural and controlled, which, overall, is impressive considering how difficult it is for a single actor to carry the emotional weight of an entire film. Her intense and naturalistic acting conveyed the fear, grief, and paranoia sincerely without having any other physical scene partners.

I can call this reaction-based acting, as Kiri is the sole onscreen actor, handling the pressure of a “one-woman show” gracefully. Overall, her performance was exceptional.

Michele Duquet as Mama was genuinely unsettling, and her scene delivered the one moment that truly horrified me. When she slowly looked back at her daughter, it sent chills down my spine. We already knew she was in a coma and unable to move, which made that subtle head turn even more disturbing. It felt like the exact moment the film tipped into real horror.

Adam DiMarco, as Justine, whose only voice could be heard through the entire film, was a soothing and calming person on the podcast. He was the paranormal “believer,” playing the character in contrast to that of Kiri’s. His voice alone drove tension, but he was concerned about his podcast co-host, as they used to talk over the phone before each episode, which added tension to their dynamic.​

What do critics add to the Undertone 2026 review?​

The critics’ consensus on Rotten Tomatoes showed appreciation for Undertone, as it said,​

“Masterfully using negative space and unsettling audio to build its creeping dread, undertone erupts as a diabolically immersive aural nightmare.” [Source]​

The critics praised Tuason’s effort for the “sensory overload,” as it makes a bold step into the new subgenre effectively. They felt that the film was authentically unnerving merely with the use of sound.​

Though some critics were disapproving of the story as it looked “wasted” and the character development was weak, the fresh concept from a Canadian filmmaker still seemed a “spookily effective maelstrom of sound and fury.”

Fans’ reaction

The viewers were harder than the critics, as they believed that it wasn’t the “scariest movie of the year,” as the promotions had been calling it. Though some were happy with the truly frightening concept, they found it never fully met its potential.

The audio horror kept them on the edge of their seats, but the conclusion was not fulfilling. Some were truly disappointed by the fact that there was a lot of noise but a void of concrete content.​

Is it worth watching?

Undertone serves a brilliantly composed aural dread that anyone could enjoy for the entire 85 minutes. It is Tuason’s success that he has been able to compose something impressive in terms of atmospheric horror.​

Each scene in the film is shot slowly so that every wall and every corner of the house is in the frame. It shows that the director has taken meticulous care in devising something horrific and invited the viewers to look at all the corners of the house, even if something is not there.​

This technique has caused a person like me to wait and watch, as if something is going to happen. The sound mixed with a small flicker of light gave me the impression that the devil was going to come out of the screen to get me.

Obviously, the film surely requires a theatrical experience because that is the entire point of it. The Dolby Cinema speakers will amp up the experience of the acoustic scares that the film is meant to offer, since when nothing is on the screen, you are surely going to find it effective.​

The only downside for me was that the actual story didn’t really begin until about an hour into the movie. It is understandable, as the story wanted us to look deeply into how the sound recording that Evy and Justine were exploring got intense over time, and the director wanted us to get involved in the film fully by that time, alongside Evy’s ailing mother, who amplifies the fright element of the film.​

The film deliberately takes its time to peel back the layers of narrative fusion between religion and the podcast recordings. The story utilized that time wisely to let us know what was going on, and in the end, we were left to watch the consequences.​

What we liked​

• Nina Kiri’s performance
• Innovative sound design
• Atmospheric direction by Ian Tuason
• One-room horror execution
• Michele Duquet’s creepy moment
• Immersive theatrical experience

What could be better​

• Slow start/late story payoff
• Weak narrative depth
• Underwhelming character development
• Divisive ending  
• Too much reliance on sound over substance

Here is a detailed breakdown of our rating for Undertone (2026):

Story/plot	7/10
Characters and acting	7/10
Direction and pacing	7/10
Visuals and cinematography	6/10
Soundtrack/score	8/10
Themes and message	4/10
Emotional impact	4/10
Creativity/originality	7/10
Rewatchability	3/10

​​Our rating: 6/10​

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Is Undertone (2026) available for online streaming?

​A24 distributes Undertone (2026) (R-rated) theatrically on March 13, 2026, and is currently not available for streaming.

Genre: Horror

IMDb rating: 6.3

Rotten Tomatoes: 72 percent on Tomatometer (critics’ score) and 50 percent on Popcornmeter

Cast: Nina Kiri, Adam DiMarco, Michele Duquet 

Director: Ian Tuason

Writer: Ian Tuason

Producers: Cody Calahan, Dan Slater

Release date: March 13, 2026

Movie runtime: 1 hour 25 minutes

Were you spooked by the audio horror, or did it fall flat? Tell us what you think in the comments!