A horror pod. Look at this. You have this pulled
all the way over. I'm not doing that on purpose.
Just do that. I can move over. I'm like reaching.
You can move it as much as you need. Are you
good? Do you want more? No. I can move over.
A horror podcast. I'm Todd. I'm by my wife, Becca.
Hi. How are you doing? Okay. Okay. And we're
going to watch every horror movie together. How
are you doing? Fantastic. It's my favorite thing
to do. And we watched Undertone from 2026, the
new movie that the internet loves to hate. Oh,
yeah. The internet really loves to hate this
one. We're going to get into that. But it's directed
by Ian Tawson, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Hope that's right. He's directed shorts, but
this is his first feature film from what I could
tell. The one thing I did read about the production,
it seemed like... He made this movie and sold
it to A24. So this became the new big A24 horror
release that got a ton of promotion, lots of
marketing. I feel like I wasn't getting hit by
it too much, considering how much people complained
about that. Oh, I got it a lot. Oh, really? It
was all over my algorithm. And it got to the
point where I was getting... ads consistently
on youtube about it whereas like i don't want
to see the trailer like trying to stop showing
me you do watch a lot of youtube yeah i do um
yeah i think my my only real exposure to it was
i signed up for that a24 fan club thing so i
could get you some stuff for christmas they're
still sending me text messages promoting new
movies which is fun they're whoever manages that
is insane though because i was seriously getting
sent like random audio files and i would click
on it it was just random noises it's like 824
what the fuck are you telling me like i don't
know what this is see like i think that kind
of marketing is kind of cool it's it didn't like
it didn't make me angry it just made me like
so confused like what the fuck are you doing
but it was i guess it was interesting yeah i
i like seeing movies take uh at least for marketing
techniques getting different with it instead
of Let me show you the whole movie in two minutes.
Yeah, that's true because I didn't know anything
about the movie itself. I just knew that they
were sending me weird noises in my text messages.
So then later, like closer to release, that's
when I started hearing that it was supposed to
be very scary. I think the only things that I'd
heard going into it was like, it's very scary
and the sound is really nuts. So you should see
it with a good sound system, like in a theater.
Yeah. I think that's all I knew about it. What
about you? I tried to avoid everything. I did
my best to just like scrolling past it, not reading
about it, not looking at it. I really knew nothing
about it. I think what really got me to want
to see it was I started getting like Skinnamarink
vibes off of this. Just from seeing like the
reception as it was starting to come in. Because
I saw there were people who were like, this is
super fucking scary and awesome. And then there's
the people like, nothing happened. This was boring
as shit. And we're in the Skinnamer gang, for
sure. So whenever I see that, it actually makes
me want to see it more. I don't know if it's
kind of like, what's that called? A devil's advocate?
What? My mind was also thinking like a gooner,
but I'm like, that's not it. It's something like
that. No, it's not. It's not even close. I'm
sorry. Do you know what a gooner is? Yes, I know
what a gooner is. Is that just a person who jacks
off and stuff? Pretty much. Right? A few moments
later. But I'm glad we saw it in theaters. I
think my impression afterwards is that maybe
you liked it more than I did. Yeah, I guess.
I don't know. I don't know how much you liked
it. So we kind of avoid talking about the movie
after the movie. Yeah, it's fun. Now I can guess
how you feel. I guess we'll get through that.
But like overall, I think the theater experience
was great. I think this will also be a great
movie to watch in the dark with your headphones
on. Yeah. That might actually be even better.
That's probably scarier. Honestly, yeah. Considering
that this is a... podcaster horror movie yeah
and i think maybe that's the thing that people
have to understand going into it is like this
is kind of a movie about the experience it's
about the vibes you know it is very slow there
isn't really yeah much of a story yeah you're
kind of going along the beats of this person's
day almost yeah so but it's like the basic setup
i mean it really doesn't matter i we went in
kind of blind i don't think it would have made
any difference if i knew what it was about because
it's nothing crazy. It's just basically it kind
of all takes place in this one house, which is
really interesting. And it's a woman who is caring
for her mother, who is like in a coma, seems
to be dying. So taking care of her during like
her final days. And she also has a like creepy
pasta podcast that she does. With her friend
who's like living across the world, which was
like a good idea because it means she's always
recording at three in the fucking morning. Like
an excuse for that. Oh, yeah. I think I think
that was really good setup. Yeah. But it's just,
you know, it's like if a creepypasta actually
went bad while having like this story around
it that I thought was really effective because
it watching her go through this with her mother,
it kind of makes this feel almost like a. the
personification of that anxiety you know of having
to experience that i don't want to get too far
at this point i don't even know what is a spoiler
because it's like it's such a tightly packed
like small movie it's about the experience more
than the story you know but if we're going to
get into a content warning for this there isn't
there's no violence or anything like that and
the one big thing i can say i don't know if this
is a spoiler or not but i mean that's where we
are with the content warnings you know if you
want to know here it is but if you don't then
skip ahead this is not a movie that really has
jump scares so if you're worried about that it's
like some jump scares maybe a little bit like
once or twice yeah but it really is mostly just
about building this feeling of anxiety so you're
just stuck edging yeah in this anxiety ridden
state for like the whole movie yeah um and maybe
that's like my one real complaint is it feels
like it doesn't have a lot of payoff to it but
i don't know i'll get into that with the spoilers
when we start talking about the story in depth
Scared the shit out of you though. I can't remember
the last time we saw a movie at theaters where
you're like grabbing onto me. I got absorbed.
I think it was the audio. I think. Oh yeah. Oh,
that makes complete sense because you're very
sensitive to sound. Yes. I always have to bring
my AirPods so you can block the sound out. I
think I have like misophonia or something. This
is definitely, would you say this is a horror
movie for misophonia? You know what? That's up
to that's up to you. Like, I guess if you do
want to know that beforehand. Yeah, this thing.
This is probably one of the most sound based
horror movies I've encountered. And wearing earplugs
helps like and it was still really scary. Like,
I think for me, it probably would have been miserable
if I did not have earphones in. Yeah, maybe that's
worth pointing out, too, because I know a lot
of people do have sensitivities like that. Yeah.
This also deals with the idea or concept of miscarriages
and pregnancy in general. So if that's, you know,
if that's a trigger for you, just be aware. Absolutely.
And of course, like loss of a parent. But I think
we might have mentioned that. Yeah, we kind of
did. Yeah, I mean, if you're into vibes horror,
if you're into like experience horror. I think
it's worth checking out. It's like maybe not
the best, but I had fun with it. And I heard
that this guy, apparently, I think he's doing
the next Paranormal Activity movie. Oh, that's
really cool. That checks out. Yeah, that'll be
cool. I think this is worth seeing in the theater.
I feel like it's still out when we put this out.
Go see it. It's worth it. This is probably coming
out way after it comes out. Then I guess you're
going to have to sit alone in the dark with some
headphones. Yeah, I think that would still be
really good. I really do think you should watch
this with headphones on. It was really all about
the audio. Yeah, and I know a lot of people say
that about Skinnam Rank, but like this isn't
this is definitely not on the Skinnam Rank level.
I think if there's a scale where it's like paranormal
activity on one side and Skinnam Rank on the
other, this is like in the middle. It's such
a weird scale. It is a weird scale, but. If you
are a fan of either type of horror, you know
what I'm talking about. Or if you hate the other
one, you know what I'm talking about. So it's
okay. But I think we got a lot more to talk about.
So why don't we get to spoilers? Yeah? Yeah.
Okay. Usually you just go. It was very funny
to me that this is basically a horror movie for
podcasters. Yeah. Because it is so centered around
recording a podcast. So many of the spooks come
from the podcast. It's like it's a silly idea
if you think about it. It was especially driving
me crazy the way that like it's kind of the Blair
Witch Project kind of cadence, like the day night
kind of thing where in the daytime it seems to
be like developing the story, showing what's
happening with their mom. And then at night when
they record the podcast, that's when it's time
to get spooky. But there were times when they
were recording for like five minutes and they
were like, all right, let's stop and pick it
up tomorrow. They took like three nights to get
through one podcast. Do you know how crazy that
would be? I also found that odd because I was
like, wow, they really weren't talking that long.
I don't know. I just feel like that would be
such a pain in the ass to edit. Like, I can't
even imagine. And is this their like full time
job? It seemed like they were really popular.
Oh, yeah. It seemed like it was a really popular
podcast. I did notice, though. That they were
in like the no camera gang because there was
no. That's true. No face. Yeah. And they were
still super fucking popular. All right. Because
that's hope. You don't need a camera. And maybe
one day, but I don't know. No. But the overall
story, I think the weirdest thing for me. Did
you notice the kind of religious themes in this?
I was very confused about that because it felt
like she. was talking about getting an abortion.
It was almost like she was targeted because of
that. Yeah, I got a little lost on the story,
if I'm being honest. I'm not familiar with what
they were talking about, and also I don't really
know if enough was explained for me to fully
understand everything, but it seemed like there's
some demon that... I'm trying. I want to hear
what you think the story is. There's some demon
that targets women who are fertile because, I
guess, in a past life or itself is unfertile.
Okay, so it targets pregnant women. Yes. And
what was the whole deal with the nursery rhymes?
Like, what was it that even drew it in? I think
the nursery rhymes are like spells or something
or warnings. But when played backwards, it's
like... a hex or something or i don't know i'm
not sure it was like the fucking ring i feel
like i'm doing a lot of reaching for the movie
because i i can't i'm trying it was like the
ring it was like you listen to this podcast in
seven days you die well i mean i think that audio
was like that i think that's kind of what happened
at the end yeah because they do an incantation
and then she's fucking saying it it's like what
are you doing why are you saying that now you
just got cursed good job But the other thing
that threw me off was there was a part where
she was talking about her mom and how she felt
guilty was saying like she killed her mom. And
then her explanation was that she didn't pray
with her. And I was waiting to see, like, where
are we going with this? I don't know. I'm not
sure. I will say that if we're just in the story
here, I thought it was interesting how her character
switched from like. i don't know she seemed like
really in control really logical when she was
like podcasting yeah and then when she was taking
care of her mom or interacting with any of that
she seemed to be like very like fawn like and
well she was much more vulnerable well yeah i
know but i found that interesting i'm not saying
it's bad i'm saying i found it interesting Yeah,
because she really didn't give a fuck about those
emails. No. She was getting like really angry
about it. Yeah, it was hard to tell whether it
was some sort of like supernatural infatuation
with it or curiosity or just like she was just
really content -brained and wanted the content.
Like I couldn't figure out between those. Somewhere
lies in the middle, I guess. It is funny because
I see that a lot on Reddit. Like people... We're
like, can people recommend me a horror podcast?
And what they want is somebody telling creepy
stories. Everybody loves the creepy stories podcast.
But I mean, that's kind of just humans down to
probably a molecular level of arts is just sitting
around telling stories. Can you imagine someone
watching this movie like 50 years ago? Do you
think they'd be able to follow along? No, I think
a lot of the. would be very confusing there's
a lot happening yeah they'd probably be like
what the fuck is an email so and why is she talking
to that bright light um microwave trying to think
like what would that what would you even think
it is i did think it was really effective like
all the shot framing and this was really cool
i liked how You were constantly seeing separate
rooms in the house at the same time. Yeah. So
you just kind of hyper focus on the shadows after
a minute. Like, wait, why is this all in frame
here? Yeah. Why is the void the center of the
frame? Yeah. No, I like that, too. And there
was a lot of Dutch angle work, too, where you
just I think where the story started to kind
of break. And then that's when you're introduced
to more uncomfortable feeling throughout the
house and everything. Yeah, I think that was
the thing, though, is I think a lot of time it
felt like they were doing a really good job making
you super anxious and like really paying attention
to especially because they would also have the
loud noises where she'd turn her head. So you'd
wonder, like, is that in her house or in the
recording? I think I was waiting for that to
actually lead up to something. And it didn't
really get there until like the very end of the
movie. Yeah, I think even that moment you're
talking about where she's like, I think they're
in the middle of recording and then she's hearing
the noises and it sounds like it's in her house,
but you're not sure. Yeah, like that. Sucks.
It's like especially I'm usually home all day
working and like if I'm listening to something
or whatever and I hear I can't tell where it
is, that sucks. Don't like that. So I can. It's
very real for you. That's funny. I don't know.
It's like. it's weird it's like when i saw the
movie i felt like i was pretty unsatisfied reflecting
back on it i don't know maybe i was like i was
waiting for something big to happen and when
it didn't happen it kind of felt like a letdown
but maybe i could just live in the vibes maybe
i'd enjoy it more like the second time it was
pretty easy for me to kind of just like fall
into wherever the movie was going well i could
tell you were into it well i the thing is is
i I feel like I have a weird relationship with
this movie because I really enjoyed the theater
experience. And I liked that something was able
to like actually scare me in like a fun way.
Because, you know, I feel like lately a lot of
horror movies have been in an existential dread
kind of scary way. So that was kind of cool to
be just like regular scared. But the story was
just like kind of not. for me i guess i don't
know it yeah it almost felt like i was like okay
let's get through this and come back yeah i think
there are like three and a half characters in
this you know there's like her mom there's her
there's her friend and then there's the doctor
who calls at three in the morning well her boyfriend
and oh yeah there was a lady who the nurse home
nurse but you don't see her i did like how they
focused the movie purely on her perspective yeah
it makes you feel very trapped in that house
it's very like claustrophobic but i can totally
understand why this wouldn't get that kind of
mainstream appeal because i think like something
like this you got to have the big jump scare
to really get people i guess yeah i don't i don't
know what it needs it doesn't need that it was
making me honestly think about um recently i
was thinking about caveat since his new movie's
coming out hokum soon that's a movie that like
It has a really big payoff without a jump scare.
Yeah. You remember how that movie ends? That
scared the absolute fuck out of me. So I think
there's ways to do it. I just don't think that
like this movie really figured that part out
at the end, you know? Yeah. The ending was kind
of underwhelming, especially since I was so scared.
Like it had me like it really had me. But then
the ending was kind of like, oh, OK. Even for
someone who was like folded into my chair. So
we do agree on that. Yeah. I just feel like I
agree with you. It didn't really deliver, unfortunately.
Well, that's I guess the other thing to talk
about is the audio itself. We haven't really
talked about that specifically yet. Yeah. How
do we make the podcast sound like that? I was
listening to that and I was like, oh, that's
really creamy. I don't think I want to sound
any creamier. I wasn't referring to that, but
okay. I meant, it's like we said before, it plays
a lot with like, you can't figure out if the
sound is in her room or in the headphones. It
kind of like makes you almost hypersensitive
to all the sounds. So every little thing feels
like it could be a fucking jump scare. Yeah.
Well, I mean, you're listening to a recording,
so it's like hard to tell what's happening. And
that's the funny thing. I think the recordings
themselves are like creepy enough. It's not like
on the level of, you know, sinister or something
that's going to really fuck you up with those
little clips. It does a good enough job. It's
really like the audio in her house. and um and
i guess at the end that's the big scene because
it's just so much fucking sound like so much
stuff going on lights going out and everything
um i didn't understand the lady on the screen
because wasn't that like a separate video so
she got another demon in there i don't know like
i don't know i can't i thought that the video
was a separate thing i didn't know it was part
of the story i have no idea I was also curious
if it was like AI. Does it look like AI? I was
going to say like that kind of took me out of
it because it almost looked like, I don't know
if it was AI art. I can't find any confirmation.
I did look into it. It just looked weird. It
just looked odd, but I think it might be just
because of the way they photoshopped it. It fell
out of place. Yeah, it did. It was like, why
did you just not use like a scary woman photo
that you just took? Like, that's always like
the thing. It's like, why don't you just take
the photo? Stuff with her mom was creepy. Yeah.
When you could see her kind of out of focus.
That was probably the creepiest thing. Yeah.
It will. I was really creepy when she was like
on the phone or something. And then like her
mom started like. She woke up and started looking
at her and that was like really scary. I don't
remember. You don't remember that? She was like
on the phone and she's like facing the camera,
I think, on the phone. And then behind her, you
see the mom like wake up slowly and look at like
get up. And then she puts the phone down and
then she goes back down and goes to sleep. Oh
shit, I don't remember. That's fucking creepy.
That was scary. That's real scary. What the hell?
Was that like the scariest part, you think? Probably
one of them, yeah. I think overall, just the
build up to the end was probably the scariest.
I don't know what it was. I had like visceral
reaction. Assaulted by sound. Yeah, it was just
like it was so uncomfortable. Yeah, you don't
say. The person who wears the AirPods. Yeah,
I could see that. You burp right into the mic.
It's like you go like. I tried to turn to the
side. It's just so funny. It's a fun experience.
And I am definitely interested in the next paranormal
activity. See what he does with this. I think
that could translate pretty well. Maybe it'll
be about podcasters again. Maybe. Was there anything
else you want to talk about? No. Then. You can
go to ghostbeast .com for all our links. You
can search for Ghostbeast Pod. You can follow
Lux Fatale. Check out Becca's artwork. She also
designed all our merch to find at ghostbeast
.com. And thank you to the FUs for all the music.
You can check them out at the F at the F. You
can check them out at the F -USC .com. And you
can follow Ghostbeast on Letterboxd where we
rank everything we cover. Perfect spot. Okay.
I put it above him and below good boy. Yep, that
sounds good to me. I feel like it's been a while
since I've really ever objected. It has. It's
almost surprising when you do. But that puts
it at number 103 on our list. I think it's just
because... We are mind -melded. You can contact
us at podcast .ghostbeast .com. What is your
favorite Skinnamarink -like? Let me know. Bye.
Skinnamarink -like movie?