While movies in general demand massive budgets and A-list stars to reach a broad audience, when it comes to horror, all that matters is the story’s ability to instill dread. That’s why it’s quite often that horror productions made with limited resources, or even by independent filmmakers, often end up on lists of the most popular or profitable movies each year. A24 has consistently recognized this dynamic, cultivating a distribution model that best on inventive and low-cost storytelling, a strategy that turned the studio into a household name. A24’s Undertone followed that same trajectory, capturing audiences and critics with a clever premise executed on a shoestring budget. Now, Undertone is preparing to reach an entirely new audience through streaming.
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Undertone is officially set to arrive on HBO Max on June 26th. Written and directed by Ian Tuason in his feature debut, the Canadian supernatural horror film was distributed by A24 and opened theatrically in the United States on March 13, 2026, after premiering at the Fantasia International Film Festival the previous July. Produced on a budget of just $500,000, the film grossed $21 million worldwide, making it one of the strongest return-on-investment stories of this year. That commercial performance, combined with a generally positive critical reception, established Undertone as a must-watch horror movie in 2026. The success of Tuason’s movie even led to A24 greenlighting a prequel, while there’s a third movie currently in discussion.
You Should Watch Undertone Without Your Phone
Undertone follows Evy (Nina Kiri), a paranormal skeptic who co-hosts a podcast alongside her friend Justin (Adam DiMarco). Returning to her childhood home to care for her comatose mother, Evy receives a string of disturbing audio files allegedly recorded by a pregnant couple, the contents of which lead her into an investigation to figure out what happened. Tuason’s screenplay uses that podcast framework to build the story around what characters hear rather than what they see, an approach that earned the production its marketing tagline, “The scariest movie you’ll ever hear.” The result is a deeply claustrophobic experience, as Evy is trapped inside a single house, and often in a single room, while she tries to comprehend a treat she can’t even see. Of course, the concept only works thanks to Kiri’s performance, as the actress carries nearly every on-screen moment.
Undertone’s focus on sound means the movie actively rewards undivided attention. The movie’s sound design is engineered to generate discomfort through subtle audio cues layered beneath the podcast recordings, and a distraction — such as a phone notification or background conversation — means you might miss all the clever details Tuason has added to the experience. In fact, the film’s most effective sequences rely on the audience noticing sounds shifting, repeating, or disappearing entirely, making Undertone the kind of movie that’s best experienced in a quiet environment. In fact, watching this movie with headphones will give you the closest experience theaters offer with their high-quality sound systems, and you’ll be able to fully enjoy a unique horror movie that’s already dominating 2026 charts.
Undertone arrives on HBO Max on June 26th.
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