A24’s Upcoming Horror Masterpiece Is the Scariest Movie Since ‘Paranormal Activity’

6 days ago 12

Published Feb 5, 2026, 10:00 AM EST

Summary

Perri Nemiroff talks with the team behind A24's Undertone at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.
Director Ian Tuason and stars Nina Kiri and Adam DiMarco discuss the inspiration behind the film's story and how Kir and DiMarco could not have had more opposite experiences on set.
Tuason also teases his upcoming venture into the Paranormal Activity universe and DiMarco discusses what fans can expect from the Duffer Brothers' Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen.

A crucial element of the horror genre is creating a soundscape that's jarring, eerie, and sometimes otherworldly. So, what better to do than craft a horror movie that is a full-throttle auditory nightmare? And who better to back it than A24? Premiering at Sundance 2026, Undertone is filmmaker Ian Tuason's feature directorial and writing debut that aims to steal sleep from audiences with creepy sounds that haunt their minds. In a film focused on sound, the screen is essentially scaled back to one character, played by Nina Kiri (The Handmaid's Tale), with the other major cast member, Adam DiMarco (The White Lotus), taking on a faceless role.

Evy (Kiri) lives a lonely existence, taking care of her ailing mother and co-hosting a paranormal podcast called Undertone. Between herself and co-host Justin (DiMarco), she's typically the more skeptical between the two, but the latest batch of files has her questioning her disbelief. As each audio file unfurls more ominously than the previous, Evy's sanity gradually spirals as her reality fragments into a nightmarish wreckage. Soon enough, she is haunted by the creepy sounds and potential hidden messages in the audio.

At this year's Sundance Film Festival, Tuason, Kiri, and DiMarco sat down with Collider's Perri Nemiroff at the Arby's Cinema Center to discuss the making of this horrifying audiovisual endeavor. For casual and die-hard genre fans alike, Undertone is being heralded as the next can't-miss horror, and one that Collider's own Ross Bonaime says "dares you not to be unnerved by it long after the film has ended." Like original features that have come before (e.g., Sundance darling and A24's Talk to Me and the first Paranormal Activity), Undertone's effects linger, and not just for audiences, but for the stars themselves. When asked about the last movie to truly scare them, Kiri tells Nemiroff:

“After the Fantasia screening, that was my first time watching it, and I wasn't expecting to be scared. I watched the movie. I'm like, ‘Okay, that's the movie. Great. It's awesome.’ We left, and then I started to feel really dark feelings of doom. Then, as the night progressed, we were even celebrating and having a good time, and I was like, ‘I feel doom. I feel doom.’ And I had a nightmare that night in my hotel in Montreal, and I woke up in the middle of the night. So, our movie.”

The cast also share their movie-making experience. In the process of writing, Tuason tells Nemiroff he drew inspiration from his everyday life and weaponized it to disrupt the sense of safety around the concept of care-taking. Kiri and DiMarco also talk about their virtually opposite acting experiences on set, where the former was the main focus of the camera while the latter was faceless. Tuason also teases his plans for the next Paranormal Activity installment, advising those who believe the franchise has nothing more to offer to "watch Undertone," and DiMarco also teases his upcoming project, Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen.

For more from the trio behind Undertone, check out the full conversation in the video above, with time codes provided below.

'undertone' Review: A24's Latest Horror Movie Is One of the Scariest Films You’ll Ever Hear

Writer-director Ian Tuason proves himself to be an exciting new voice in horror with this uncomfortable horror tale.

00:57 - What Is Undertone About?
01:42 - How Undertone Is Inspired by the Director’s Real Life
03:59 - Nina Kiri’s “Golden Bubble” Made Her Shine on Screen
05:31 - Representing Your Director Through Character
06:26 - Adam DiMarco on Tackling a Unique Challenge
08:33 - Has Undertone Changed Their Minds on the Paranormal?
09:38 - Adam DiMarco Shares a Real-Life Ghost Encounter on The White Lotus
10:35 - Undertone Is the Scariest Movie Since Paranormal Activity
12:49 - Ian Tuason Teases His Direction for the Next Paranormal Activity
14:57 - The Undertone Crew Play the “Greenlight Game”
16:17 - Adam DiMarco Teases the Duffer Brothers’ New Project

Special thanks to our presenting sponsor, Arby’s, for making the Collider Studio happen at the Arby’s Cinema Center and keeping us all fed with their selection of curly fries, mozzarella sticks, and tastes of their new Italian Beef Dip, a new limited-time sandwich that brings Chicago-style flavors to its menu. In addition, thanks to our supporting partners, including Hendrick’s Gin, Sommsation - The Wine Company, Peroni USA, neau water, Bernier, and our producing partner Twenty35 Agency.