Undertone

So you want to catch a movie released on Friday the 13th . . .

In an era of horror dominated by jump scares, Ian Tuason's Undertone is a minimalistic film that relies almost entirely on sound and unconventional camera shots to create an unsettling atmosphere.

The protagonist of this story is Evangeline "Evy" Babig (played by Nina Kiri), who runs a horror podcast alongside her off-screen friend Justin (Adam DiMarco).

Warning: there are spoilers ahead.

As the plot develops, Justin receives an anonymous email containing ten audio files, recorded by an unknown couple -- Mike and Jessa. 

Mike has recorded Jessa at night to capture evidence of her talking and singing in her sleep. 

During their podcast, Evy and Justin begin playing these recordings in reverse to uncover secret messages within Jessa's ramblings.

Mike, kill all.

Lick the blood off.

Come in, Abyzou.

In her breaks from podcasting, Evy has been tasked with caring for her comatose mother. She feels very guilty about her mother's state, revealing that she refused to pray despite her mother's pleading. Evy later discovers that she is also six weeks pregnant.

Needless to say, she has enough on her plate without the need to summon Abyzou, an infertile folkloric demon who causes women to miscarry or even murder their own children in a jealous rage. How pleasant.

As the film reaches its climax, Evy and Justin make the mistake of playing the tenth and final audio clip, which quite literally causes all hell to break loose.

The podcasters receive a call from a neighbor informing them that Mike and Jessa were found dead with plastic bags over their heads, viewers learn that Jessa was also pregnant when she was murdered, and it becomes evident that Abyzou has indeed been released once again.

This demon of folklore now fully possesses Evy's comatose mother. As Evy rushes upstairs, the walls of the house are covered in crayon depictions of Abyzou and a number of dead infants -- her victims over the years.

Finally, Evy sees her mother inexplicably standing in the bathroom, as we fade to black and presumably hear the deaths of both Evy and her unborn child.

My rating? 7 out of 10.

A bonus point for being the creepiest film I've seen in theatres in a long time.

Reports say that Undertone was created on a $500,000 budget, which seems accurate considering that it is primarily a one-woman show.

With that said, it should be a box office success, and appeal to those who can appreciate a slow burn that leaves viewers with more questions than answers.

There is an argument to be made that the film is rather boring or uneventful, but in my estimation, it atones for that with a 94-minute runtime and truly haunting finish.

What were your thoughts on Undertone? Feel free to leave a note in the comments below, let's discuss :)

Here are some other films I've seen lately:

Hoppers

Slanted

The Bride!

Scream 7