On Thursday morning, A24 debuted the first trailer for Undertone, the horror film from first-time feature filmmaker Ian Tuason that they snapped up for worldwide release following its Fantasia Film Festival premiere, as we first reported last August.
Undertone stars Nina Kiri as Evy, a paranormal podcast host who returns home to care for her dying mother. Thereafter, she begins receiving recordings from a married couple plagued by strange noises in their house, pulling her into a spiral of fear and paranoia.
In her description of the film for Fantasia Fest, programming director Carolyn Mauricette wrote, “Fans of SKINAMARINK and I AM THE PRETTY THING WHO LIVES IN THE HOUSE will love this slow-burn nightmare that will make hackles on your neck rise and your blood chill.”
The trailer has Babic and her co-host introduce viewers to the Undertone podcast, where they’re preparing to sift through 10 enigmatic audio recordings sent on an anonymous email. They believe that there are hidden messages to be found in the audio by playing it back in reverse, and only realize in retrospect that they’ve “unleased something.”
“You shouldn’t have called out to her,” Babic is later told by an unseen character. “It’s what she wants.”
There were six buyers in the mix for Undertone, sources told us, with A24 closing a deal for the film at mid-7 figures. Pic was produced by Dan Slater for Slaterverse Pictures and Cody Calahan for Black Fawn Films. Exec producers include Steven Schneider and Roy Lee for Spooky Pictures, Chad Archibald for Black Fawn Films, Brit MacRae and Daril Fannin for Kino Studios, DimensionGate, and Will Rowbotham and Luke Maxwell for 3 Arts Entertainment.
Undertone helmer Tuason is a Toronto-based creative heretofore best known for his live-action virtual reality horror shorts, which have garnered over 14M organic views on YouTube. Check out the trailer for his debut feature by clicking above.