Podcast horror Undertone's attempt to beam in a new era for the genre ends up a skippable misfire: Film review

Within a week Stateside, it boasted the accolade of raking in over 30 times the movie's budget. Ian Tuason's unique script was brought to life for a modest $500k.

By its second weekend in theatres in the States, it had earned box office plaudits for smashing the $15million mark. Therefore, you can imagine my excitement to watch - and listen - to this supposedly groundbreaking horror once it arrived on British shores.

Fronted by Nina Kiri, who was best known to me as Elisabeth Moss's right-hand handmaid in the spectacular The Handmaid's Tale, the film follows her podcast-hosting alter ego, Evy.

Evy co-presents her very own paranormal podcast with her pal Justin (Adam DiMarco). The pair record each episode while Evy juggles caring for her terminally ill mother (Michèle Duquet) in the family home.

With Justin beaming in from overseas and Evy's body clock out the window thanks to the 24-hour care she's required to give to her ailing mum, 3am becomes a suitable time for the pair to delve into all things spooky for their listeners.

Evy is a sceptic, while Justin appears - or sounds - more than eager to throw himself headfirst into the extraordinary and spine-tingling.

So when Justin is emailed 10 audio files from an unknown email address, along with a decipherable message, his interest is piqued.

With Evy's mother unconscious upstairs, the two open each audio file one by one, despite our protagonist's clear and growing reluctance.

The files begin by introducing a couple who are unknown to the podcast hosts. The husband can be heard teasing his wife about talking in her sleep, and he's determined to record her to prove his point.

As each audio file is played, hairs begin to rise. From inaudible babbling, children's nursery rhymes in reverse, and indescribable horrors, it soon becomes clear Justin could probably have done with investing in a more robust email filtration system.

The sound mix of Undertone is superb. You feel as if you're listening along with Kiri through the latest invention from the minds at Bose.

Undertone does what all good horrors do: it dwells in the silences while leaning into the anxiety-inducing sounds of the mundane before punching your eardrums with the scare.

Visually, it too borrows tropes synonymous with its hair-raising predecessors. Religious imagery, medieval storytelling, children's songs, and sweeping camera angles are just a few features familiar to horror fans.

And Kiri is great. Her only on-screen counterpart is Michèle Duquet's Mama, who spends much of Undertone wrapped up in her 12-tog duvet. Yet the heavy lifting of every scene doesn't appear to weigh our lead actress down.

My main gripe with Undertone is its rather clunky and often misplaced dialogue.

There are countless promising moments in the film where audiences feel they're on the verge of something terrifying, but then Justin and Evy sit down to record their pod and it feels like all tension is lost.

Rather than build on its momentum, the script inadvertently is plagued with these intervals that deprive the audience of ever reaching true peak terror.

And by its climactic final scene, all trepidation is gone, meaning the desired screeches or horror are instead replaced by exhalations of meh-ness.

Evy's character is also rather awkwardly explored. We learn of a previous alcohol addiction that feels clumsily shoehorned in to try to flesh out this troubled 20-something.

There's the good-for-nothing jock boyfriend, who we hear over the phone. Again, a cliche that is planted without any semblance of subtlety.

Tuason's direction is decent for the most part, but the needless panning of the camera around the home a-la-Paranormal Activity, also feels needless at times.

Before sitting down to watch, I wondered if A24 favourite Mia Goth would've been a more suitable lead, but even she wouldn't have been able to propel Undertone to the heights it so easily could've hit if done right.

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Kiri ends up being the best thing about Undertone, and Tuason's bravery to craft a horror that relies so heavily on sound rather than visuals does deserve recognition.

Sadly, however, if Undertone was the first in a 'The Rest Is... Horror' podcast series, I fear Lineker and co would opt against greenlighting a series run.

2/5