Cinematic Point Of View

In my opinion, some of the best horror in films often takes place in your own mind. The personal horrors that grow in that darkness. That’s where the real horror resides. That’s the horror that filmmakers are counting on, but can’t control. If you’re invested enough in what’s on screen, then simply showing the darkness in a film is often enough to trigger those unknown fears. That’s part of the magic.

The magic doesn’t always work though. You need a filmmaker who gets it and actors that are invested. I went to see ‘Undertone‘ (2025) this week and it’s clear that director Ian Tuason and his crew get it. Marketed as the “Scariest Movie of the Year,” I’m not sure that sets the right tone for ‘Undertone.’ It implies way too much and this is a film about showing less.

The story is simple. A woman named Evy (Nina Kiri) co-hosts a paranormal podcast with her friend Justin. Evy is the skeptic and Justin (Adam DiMarco) is the believer. Evy moves into her dying mother’s house to take care of her and, during this emotionally draining period of her life, the podcaster receives an email containing 10 audio clips of a man recording his pregnant wife sleeping, trying to prove to her that she talks in her sleep.

As the duo begins listening to the clips during the podcast things quickly start to go downhill. Creepy supernatural sounds. Babies crying. Children’s lullabies. Voices played backward shouting out the name of a demon named “Abyzou.” The two dive into researching the darker meaning of children’s songs and just who this “Abyzou” demon was. (Probably not the best use for some downtime while taking care of your dying mother, but hey that’s just my two cents.)

Anyway, I won’t go any further with the plot as things start to get worse and Evy slowly, increasingly gets more paranoid and upset.

And this is where you will either love or hate this movie. It’s a slow burn, shot almost entirely indoors (I genuinely can’t recall a single exterior shot) and anchored by one actor. Much of what unfolds does so through fantastic sound design and amazingly strong voice performances. Those voice actors deliver solid supporting work, but it’s Nina Kiri who carries the film, and her performance drives nearly every scene.

I think you need this expectation set before going into it to really appreciate and enjoy it.

There are probably two minutes of actual balls-to-the-wall on-screen horror. When that time finally came, after all the build-up, I was shaken. I found myself covering my face and tearing up. I was truly shocked by my reaction.

When the credits rolled, I sat there stunned and thinking about what just happened. The film doesn’t give you all the answers and leaves you to question and wonder. I’m excited to watch this again at home with headphones and see what pieces I can pick up that I missed the first time around.

I would compare this film, in some ways, to something like the original ‘Blair Witch Project.’ This is a low-budget movie that uses a bare-bones cast to create a slow burn feeling of dread and horror. I have fond memories of seeing the original Blair Witch in the theater that opening weekend, and I will have fond memories of seeing this film as well.

Looking at this from the filmmaking perspective was another reason I loved this film so much. The way that cinematographer Graham Beasley places his camera within 2.12:1 BeezVision aspect ratio is truly effective. (Yeah, I looked that technical bit up as I could tell this wasn’t your normal aspect ratio.) Beasley maintains an over-the-shoulder fixed position for much of the audio clip segments and slowly pans right or left leading your eye (and mind) away from Evy and into those dark places and leaves you wondering and waiting.

On a final note, ‘Undertone’ covers a lot of emotional subjects in such a limited space and time. Mothers and daughters. Grief and dying. Pregnancy. Faith and lack of faith. The stories Evy and Justin uncover, as well as the story that unfolds in the audio clips, work so well because they will likely hit close to home in some way. They did for me. I’m not going to dive any deeper into this area as I need to see it a second time. Just know that underneath the camerawork and scary sounds that there are lots of questions being pondered that help strengthen the vision of the film.

If you couldn’t tell, I really loved this movie. It’s a moody, immersive, effective creeping horror that I won’t soon forget. I’m still thinking about it and kind of wishing I had the time to go back and see it again right now. I read that the director has been tapped to direct a new ‘Paranormal Activity‘ movie. I haven’t seen any of those films since the first, but I am excited to see what he does with the concept.