Ian Tuason, who reveres Alfred Hitchcock, has crafted 'Undertone' as an auditory horror film set in one location with essentially one character. Alfred Hitchcock famously claimed he didn't watch his films in theaters, a contrast to Tuason's focus on communal viewing. The plot follows Evy, played by Nina Kiri, a skeptical paranormal podcaster caring for her dying, comatose mother while investigating unnerving audio files sent anonymously with her remote co-host Adam DiMarco.
Tuason began his career in virtual reality and became known for immersive 3D sound in horror shorts viewed millions of times, with soundscapes becoming his calling card. He wrote a 250-page script for 'Undertone' that included every audio cue, and during shooting, he removed many visuals to strip the film down to its barest form, featuring a woman listening to audio clips through noise-canceling headphones. Production involved REDLAB, a local Toronto postproduction studio.
No. I can hear them scream when I'm making the picture.
After A24 came on board to distribute the film, the mix was redone in Dolby. Producer Cody Calahan said 'Undertone' is meant to be seen in theaters in Dolby, but watching at home on headphones alone is a different experience. The film played at the Sundance Film Festival, where some people called it the 'scariest movie you'll ever hear'.
Ian Tuason's favorite part of the filmmaking process is watching his films with audiences, which motivated him to make a horror film to witness reactions. Behind 'Undertone' is a deeply personal story of demons.
My favorite thing about this whole process is just watching it with audiences. I think that's probably why I wanted to make a horror film ... just to kind of witness the reactions.
The same way as when you tell a ghost story at a campfire, it doesn't feel that great unless you see your friend scared.
Sound in movies, it makes space for the audience to imagine what they're not seeing. Whatever you imagine that's scary is going to be way scarier than what I can show you. There's going to be millions of different versions of this movie in millions of minds and that's all because of the power of suggestion driven by sound and a lot of negative space.
It's definitely meant to be seen in the theater in Dolby, because that is the exact vision that Ian had. But at home, on headphones, alone, it is a different experience ... You can kind of watch it twice.