Horror creators have gotten a lot of mileage over the years out of the idea that perceiving something is an invitation. That is, that the very act of watching or listening (which you, as an audience member, are also participating in, natch) is a big, flashing “come and get me!” signal to the supernatural. Certainly, that’s the nasty hook sunk into the flesh of A24’s latest horror offering Undertone, today’s new trailer for which shows a skeptical podcaster hearing something she apparently shouldn’t, and becoming the target of malevolent forces that begin twisting her perceptions of the world.
Now, are we incapable of resisting the urge to note that this is basically just The Ring, but with podcasts? (And thus ask ourselves critical questions like “Would Samara have managed to kill more people if she’d incorporated some funny ad reads into her routine?”) Sure. But writer-director Ian Tuason’s directorial debut has gotten pretty strong reviews from an opening showing at the Fantasia International Film Festival last year, with critics especially praising the all-important sound design of a movie that really wants to scare you through your ears, as much as your eyes. (Reviews also note something that the trailer itself doesn’t make especially clear, i.e., that star Nina Kiri’s Evy is the only character—besides her ailing and unconscious mother—who actually appears onscreen in the film, with all other characters represented only by unseen voices. Which is the kind of formal twist that we wouldn’t have minded the trailer making a bit more obvious, honestly.)
A24 snapped up Undertone (stylized undertone) pretty much immediately after its festival premiere last year. The film goes into wide release on March 13, and will, presumably, be the kind of thing you might actually want to catch in theaters, just on account of wanting to experience it with the most powerful sound system possible.
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