I'm Even More Excited About A24's Highly-Anticipated New Horror Movie After Hearing Which Classic Inspired It

2026 already looks like an incredible year for horror, following in the footsteps of what turned out to be an all-timer in 2025. One of the year's earlier can't-miss original movies is Undertone, the buzzy new supernatural horror from A24. Ever since its award-winning debut at 2025's Fantasia International Film Festival, hype has been building for what many are claiming is a legitimately new angle for the genre.

Undertone follows a paranormal podcaster who moves back home to take care of her dying mother. After being sent recordings to analyze as the resident skeptic on her podcast, she begins to have her own paranormal experiences. In a unique twist, the main character Evy (Nina Kiri) is the only character who appears on-screen, and almost all the action occurs in a single location (her mother's home).

Director Ian Tuason spoke with Variety about how he developed Undertone, and the elements that go into making an independent horror movie. He specifically pointed to an iconic horror movie from which he drew inspiration while establishing a tone, and it should make any horror fan more excited about Undertone.

Undertone Draws Inspiration From The Exorcist

Director Ian Tuason shot Undertone primarily in his home, and as a result had to come to terms with the terror he was building at every turn. That close-to-home nature of the movie's production was born out of self-reflection about what scared Tuason himself.

“I was trying to figure out why ‘The Exorcist’ scared me so much since I was a little kid,” he says. “I figured it was because it took the safest place and thing in the world and weaponized it, via a daughter at home. I was trying to figure out for the longest time, ‘How could I find something safer and then weaponize that?’

What unraveled the original viewers of The Exorcist was the juxtaposition of unspeakable evil and pure innocence, as the corruption of a young girl was played for maximum effect. In that same vein, Tuason's new movie juxtaposes the safety and comfort of a childhood home and a parent with the paranoia and fear of a supernatural haunting.

Sound Design Is Key To The Creepiness Of Undertone And The Exorcist

Undertone will also follow in The Exorcist's footsteps in its use of sound to elicit fear. Some of The Exorcist's most memorable moments are carried by their sound design, like Regan's head snapping around backwards, the scampering of her hands and feet in the spider pose, or the otherworldly voice that emanates from within her. It's what takes The Exorcist a step further, attacking another sense entirely in addition to the terrifying on-screen imagery.

Undertone will rely even more heavily on sound design for its scares. Based on how reliant the narrative is on haunting sounds, Undertone basically begs to be viewed in theaters, as Tuason mimics the experience of noise-canceling headphones. The audience is meant to experience the paranormal recordings right alongside Evy, which is part of Undertone's unique hook.

Plenty of modern horror movies draw comparisons to the classics, but Undertone seems as though it's been genuinely inspired—not by the storyline or monster, but by the emotional foundation of its horror style. If early online hype is any indication, it has true sleeper hit potential.