Fantasia International Film Festival 2025 – The Undertone is one of those horror films that builds and builds, until it crawls under your skin once the credits roll. Utilizing a hair-raising sound design, layered narratives, and some folklore, writer/director Ian Tuason’s film is a frightful affair. It’s one of this year’s must-see horror films.
The feature stars Nina Kiri as Evy. To say that the lead has a lot going on in her life is an understatement. Her mom is dying, and Nina takes care of her at home. She’s also pregnant. To take her mind off her stresses, Nina focuses on her paranormal podcast, The Undertone. Her co-host, Justin (Kris Holden-Ried), is a true believer, while Evy is the skeptic. The two discover ten audio files sent to them anonymously that follow a couple, Jessa (Keana Lyn Bastidas) and Mike (Jeff Yung). Each audio file grows eerier. They include creepy nursery rhymes, unnatural behavior from Jessa, and Mike’s frantic pleas. Viewers never actually see Jessa and Mike. Instead, we learn their story through each file, each progressively scarier than the last.
A demon known as Abyzou haunts and possesses Jessa. Tuason drew from folklore and Eastern religion especially when crafting Abyzou’s mythos. She’s an envious demon responsible for miscarriages and infant mortality. Tuason uses the folktale to build upon Jessa and eventually Evy’s narratives. The more that Evy and Justin listen to the audio files and try to unpack what happened to Jessa and Mike, the more that Evy turns to the bottle to self-medicate. There’s also the fact that religious artifacts keep showing up in her mom’s room and Tuason frequently zooms in on paintings and figurines of the Virgin Mary. It does make sense by the last act.
For the most part, Kiri is the only actress we see, and she turns in one heck of a performance, carrying and portraying her character’s emotional turmoil, yet steely will to question any concept of the paranormal. The other performances are conveyed through voice, yet they also help carry the weight of the film and textured narratives.
Tuason’s film also establishes one heck of a foreboding atmosphere. The camera moves through long, shadowy hallways of Evy’s home, causing a viewer to question if they saw something in the corner of the frame. The sound design includes a crying baby, thumps, running faucets, and other uncanny noises.
It’s been a while since a film generally unnerved me. The Undertone is a disquieting film, bolstered by its layered narratives, discomforting atmosphere, and stellar use of sound design. Meanwhile, Kiri carries so much of this film, conveying her character’s emotional distress. The Undertone is a true spook fest.
