As Evy (Nina Kiri) the main character watches over her dying mother, and tries to continue the podcast she has been recording with her invisible broadcast buddy Justin (Adam DiMarco) her desperate work from home workstation and childhood home becomes slowly possessed.
There are well-paced classic horror at home elements here. The staying up late in a family home. Stranger sounds and occurrences as Evy slowly walks through the house, peers around doors and senses a presence in witching hour workstation scenes.
However it is the use of technology as a conduit (pun intended) for the story’s focus that is truly a now vibe. The subtitle on the movie poster sums up the invisible cast member, the power of podcasts and audio in this slow burn thriller. It reads: ‘The scariest movie you’ll ever hear’.
Tension through what is heard is emphasised here by the sound sources (the podcast co-host and a set of recordings featuring sleep talking, subliminal messages and the like) being audio only in the film.
Other chilling sound ingredients is firstly a focus on the laboured pre-death-rattle breathing of Evy’s mother upstairs, the background noises on the podcast recordings as well as late night household noises such as plumbing and creaking stairs.
Evy is the resident sceptic on the podcast about unusual occurrences. Which makes her eventual house haunting or possession of the space through technology all the more powerful when the movie finally heads towards supernatural array time.
The emphasis on recording, scraping on computer sound files, playing backwards, searching for background sound has us in the cinema straining to hear and react alongside Evy and her offsite co-host.
Above: Adam Di Marco voices the role of remote podcaster in Undertone. He is joined by several other unseen character voices.
Performances are presented with engaging realism here. Melodrama is absent in the recognisable plight of Evy’s character, dutifully minding her mother at the end of the woman’s life when her sibling wouldn’t.
Her exhaustion and pre-grief is also believable so we are totally on her side by the time the movie finally escalates to the obviously supernatural that her tired self is vulnerable.
Podcast geeks will love the tone and banter here. DiMarco’s spirited faceless banter and his familiar voice from The White Lotus and Netflix’s The Order where he was a werewolf knight has perky energy and eventual panic excellence here.
Nina Kiri’s palpable exhaustion, her relationship and need to stay sane with the podcast performance works in contrast to her co-host here. She is in the often 3am dim childhood house as she records with Justin in another time zone.
As the make-you-jump night-time exploration of sound files from a couple in real paranormal trouble descends into danger for Evy the melting away of her scepticism is accompanied by recognisable horror movie actions we have seen so much before. But their gradual introduction and last-minute chaotic escalation make them succeed.
Household items controlled by demonic manipulation-like flickering lamps, involuntary childish crayon drawing, TV images, music are all here. Details in Evy’s mother’s room are well place throughout to link to possession in the short but out of control climax.
The discovery through Google in the podcast of theories relating to nursery rhymes, subliminal messages, superstition, British History, demons preying on young mothers in non-anglo culture had me rushing to research details on my phone after the screening. These were all theories explored in reality which was refreshing to link up via Wikipedia.
Visual elements add to our sensitivity to voices, dying breath wheezing and sound. All accompanied with powerful close up shots. The mix of a typical looking older mother’s house contrasts with crayon-drawn demons, backlit screens in the witching hour.
The brief moments of something pale in the shadows has us squinting as does the subtle slow-mo movement of Evy’s mother work well and contrasts with the tempo change of effect overload that ends the movie. They contrast to the quick streamed recording, people calling in to the podcast call link up and headset technology we are so in tune with and Evy uses to escape predicament and physicality for her and her mother.
The pushing of the threads of horror, legendary demonic character and into a top-heavy end here could have had an overload effect. But it doesn’t-rather an workshopping of social and demonic history podcast enquiry backfiring to re-enact and trap in an exciting acceleration to the movie’s end.
This is an expressively filmed and acted piece with a successful contemporary edge. Worth a look and worth the straining to listen.
Undertone is in Cinemas April 9.
