The scariest movie you’ll ever hear? How Undertone became an aural nightmare

The scariest movie you’ll ever hear? How Undertone became an aural nightmare

Undertone is A24’s latest stylised horror film, in Australian cinemas from Thursday April 9. Director Ian Tuason discusses odd moments on set and why he made sound design centre stage in this ambitious original movie.

The New Movie Undertone & Why Silence Will Never Be The Same

Spoilers Ahead!! Like any good horror movie, Undertone doesn’t just scare you—it stays with you. It lingers later when you’re lying in bed, and suddenly the silence feels a little too loud. As a viewer, that lingering discomfort is one of the film’s biggest strengths; it doesn’t rely on quick scares, it intentionally sticks with you.   Across social media, viewers are split. Some love it, some hate it, and most are still trying to figure out wha…

Undertone review – hits only bum notes

A podcaster caring for her terminally ill mother suspects an evil entity is stalking her in Ian Tuason's preposterous sonic horror. There's an argument to be made that audio is consistently underutilised in cinema – despite the advent of Dolby Atmos, few filmmakers seem to truly embrace the possibilities offered by a dark room and surround sound. To his credit, filmmaker Ian Tuason has at least taken this in consideration with his feature debut …

Undertone Review – 'A supremely spooky sonic ordeal'

At last: a film which warns of the evils of podcasting. Undertone is a very effective kind of horror, especially in how it tells a story both about, and via, the audio form. While it may trade in somewhat unoriginal genre tropes — the haunted house, the evil demons, the creepy children’s songs, the jump scares — its form and its function feel fresh, fluent and flippin’ frightening. At the very least, it is a deeply unsettling sensory experience.…

Undertone Review: A Chilling Symphony of Sound That Lingers Beyond the Frame

Audio, or “found audio” horror, remains one of the most unsettling subgenres in cinema. It is perhaps also the most demanding, relying almost entirely on sound to construct fear. I recall watching Session 9, where minimal visuals were elevated by haunting speech and an ominous score, creating an atmosphere that lingered long after the screen went dark. In that sense, Undertone arrives at a particularly timely moment. With the rise of podcast cul…