Did you hear that?
There’s a creak upstairs. It sounds like drums beating, water running. What’s that noise? Is someone walking around upstairs? Did your mother finally make it out of bed after being bedridden and unconscious for months? Is that Catholic statue changing its face? That’s not possible, right? Right?
These are the thoughts that entered my mind while watching what I would consider the scariest movie I have ever heard: Undertone. The movie, starring Nina Kiri, focuses on a horror podcast, notably titled The Undertone. Evy and her podcast partner Justin (voice played by Adam Dimarco), listen to ten haunting recordings on the show that an anonymous email sent them.
This movie is definitely not for the faint of heart or anyone that was spooked by the hidden messages embedded in children’s nursery rhymes growing up. Think “Ring Around the Rosie” and how the posies within the song were really a way to mask the smell of the Black Death, instead of the song being sweet. Undertone dives deep into a select few nursery rhymes and makes each one’s interpretation more terrifying than the last.
We learn there is some sort of a demon within the files Evy and Justin are listening to and the two of them unleash it when they listen to the tenth and final one. I had my head in my sweater, ready to cover my ears in case of a jump-scare and my hands covered my eyes for most of the movie, but the scariest part was the mention of the Witching Hour, infamously known as being 3 a.m. Sure, they were hinting at it throughout the movie, but explicitly saying it? That’s where I draw the line. The tension finally snaps within the last twenty minutes of the movie until everything goes black and you’re sitting there in shock and wonder, trying to piece together the past hour and a half.
I have never been a paranormal horror person. Gore? Sure. Slasher? That’s fine. But possession? No, thank you! But on a small budget of $500K and an impressive directorial debut from Ian Tuscon, this movie freaked me out so bad I had to ask my friend to sleep over because I knew I would get home right at 3 a.m. Nevertheless, I had to give this movie four stars for freaking me out so bad. Kiri sold me and I am always incredibly impressed by most horror performances, especially those done by women. Throughout the entire movie, we only see two people on our screen, Evy and her comatose mother (played by Michelle Duquet). Everyone else in the movie, we only hear. Being able to express such strong emotions that I felt through the movie automatically made me rate it high, despite not being a fan and recommending people to not see it.
If you are a horror fan, then yes see it. More than anything, it keeps you on the edge of your seat, your body full of tension, and your eyes on the screen trying so hard to find where that groaning of a floorboard is coming from.