A24 has released the official trailer for Undertone, a stripped-down horror-thriller that seems to lean heavily into sonic terror and slow-burn anxiety rather than packing jump scares. In an impressively tense first look, most of its trickiest tricks are wisely kept secret. Watch the trailer above, then read on for more details.
Undertone turns podcast horror into creeping paranoia
At the center of Undertone is a popular paranormal podcast host who begins receiving a series of disturbing audio recordings from an anonymous sender. What begins as a creepy curiosity gradually spirals into obsession, paranoia, and something far more sinister as the sounds begin to suggest a being that doesn’t want to be trapped inside your headphones.
Nina Kiri (The Handmaid’s Tale) appears on screen as a major performer, with the rest of the cast primarily providing voice acting (though the trailer does show some creepy characters in the margins). The cast includes Chris Holden-Reid, Michelle Duque, Kiana Lynne Bastidas, and Jeff Jung.
Ian Tuason’s deeply personal debut and low-budget ambitions
Undertone is the first full-length feature from writer/director Ian Tuason, who has previously directed a number of short films. And if the trailer and first reviews (early positive words on Rotten Tomatoes) are anything to go by, he could be a breakout here.
In an interview with Eye For Film, Tuazon explained that the idea started in audio format. “It started when we were writing scripted, narrative podcasts. So that was the first The Undertone. It was two podcasters doing regular weekly podcast episodes talking about spooky pasta.”
He said the film took on a more personal form during a difficult time, adding, “Then my parents got sick and I took care of them both.” That experience also informed the kind of horror he wanted to explore on screen. “For a long time, I was trying to think about what: What could I own? Because I wanted to own something. And when I was caring for my parents, they were like kids. The kids and I came up with this idea. We wrote the scenes in between recording podcasts, and that’s how this movie was born.”
Tuason also pointed to the visual language he relied on to create a sense of menace in confined spaces, including the influence of writer-director Jennifer Kent’s 2014 Australian horror film The Babadook. “I’ve seen a lot of horror movies like ‘The Babadook.’ The Babadook is shot wide, so the background is creepy and the space itself is threatening. I also like to add a lot of negative space behind the characters. So I thought a lot about each shot and how this space could be threatening.”
Kiri said he was immediately drawn to the material. “I read the script and thought it was very intelligent, very personal and very vulnerable,” she said, noting how important trust is when a project has so much control. “With horror, it’s just going somewhere, and it takes courage to go there. But if you don’t feel like you’re with people who make you feel safe, you don’t have the courage to go somewhere.”
The film had its world premiere at the 2025 Fantasia Film Festival before A24 secured worldwide rights. Not bad for a project that reportedly cost less than $500,000 to produce.
release date
Undertone is currently scheduled to be released in U.S. theaters on March 13, 2026.
A24
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