Podcasts get demonic in the new trailer for A24’s upcoming horror film, which is already being called “unrelentingly scary” and “remarkably unsettling” by critics. The best part is that this new film is going to hit theaters very soon, which is exactly why the studio is dropping a haunting new trailer, which both sells viewers on the film’s high-concept story and touts the early reactions that are promising the first”scariest horror movie ever!” candidate for 2026.
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undertone is a Canadian horror film written and directed by debut filmmaker Ian Tuason. It tells the story of Evy (The Handmaid’s Tale actress Nina Kiri), who co-hosts a supernatural-themed podcast with her friend Justin (The White Lotus actor Adam DiMarco). Typically, Nina is the skeptic on the show while Justin is the believer; however, after moving in to care for her dying mother, Nina investigates a case of supposed paranormal infestation in a couple’s home, and possibly opens the door to demonic forces invading her own life and her show.
New undertone Trailer Showcases Its Unique Style of Horror (& Critics Are Loving It)
undertone is earning a label as the ‘scariest film you’ll ever hear,’ thanks to Ian Tuason’s unique stylistic choice. Borrowing from a cult-classic film like Brian De Palma’s Blow Out, this new horror tale uses sound editing as the primary driver of its scares. Evy begins to pick up low-level audio frequencies in a recording she is reviewing, and sure enough, those “whispers” turn out to be on a supernatural frequency that can’t just be unheard, once it’s picked up.
undertone seems to be tapping into a new form of horror, unique to an era when people routinely retreat to their own private bubbles of noise-cancelling headphones and screens. Before seeing a frame of the film, the notion that advancements in audio/video technology could be enough to see into, or hear into, the realm of the supernatural or demonic is enough to add dread to daily life. However, some critics hint that undertone will also have a wider thematic scope, touching upon issues like whether information like audio or video can even be trusted in the age of misinformation and fakes.
There is also a lot of praise for the fact that Tuason made the film on a budget of just $500,000, and must have done well, as he’s now been tapped to revitalize the Paranormal Activity franchise for Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. undertone is also getting a spotlight for the fact that Nina Kiri is pretty much the sole actor onscreen for almost all of the film (the other is her incapacitated mother. The film is said to live or die on Kiri’s ability to hold the camera’s focus and use her face as the primary tool of conveying the horror or other emotions the audience feels.
Ross Bonaime of Collider goes so far as to say that undertone is a film that should absolutely be considered at next year’s Oscars: “undertone plays incredibly well in a theater, where you can hardly tell if the sounds are coming from the audience or from the film itself — especially when things start to get nuts. But it’s hard to imagine just how distressing undertone would be when watched alone with headphones on. In recent years, the Academy Awards have proven that they’re more willing to award horror than ever, and with that in mind, undertone should without a doubt be in the conversation for the Best Sound award at the 2027 Oscars.”
The early Academy Awards endorsement may seem like hyperbole, but the 2024 Oscars did reward a film similar to this: Zone of Interest told the story of a Nazi commandant (Rudolf Höss) who moved his family next door to the Auschwitz concentration camp when he took command of it. The film had an intricate background and ambient sound design, so that the labor, screams, torture, and slaughter of the camp prisoners are always present on the lower frequencies, while the Nazi family chillingly proceeds with daily life as if it’s all normal.
If undertone takes that cinematic experience and gives it a proper bend into horror, then viewers will leave scared of every little creak and bump in their homes, or anything they hear through those expensive headphones. The film will be in theaters on March 13th. Discuss the 2026 year in horror with us on the ComicBook Forum!
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