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Plot Summary

undertone (2026) Plot Summary & Ending Explained

Release, runtime and language
2026 · 1 h 33 m · English
Echo score 53
JustWatch #250 40
Directed by
Ian Tuason
Starring
Ari Millen, Nina Kiri, Keana Lyn Bastidas, Ryan Turner, Jeff Yung, Adam DiMarco
Budget
$500K

Evy Babic hosts a podcast about the creepy. When her mother is dying, she moves in to care for her. The show then receives ten strange audio recordings from a young pregnant couple who claim to hear paranormal sounds. Recognizing their tale as a reflection of her own life, each new tape erodes Evy's sanity and draws her into an inescapable nightmare.

On this page (6)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 What happens: full plot
  3. 3 Plot questions answered
  4. 4 How it ends
  5. 5 Movie threads
  6. 6 Every angle

Where to watch

Where to Watch undertone (2026)

Where can you watch undertone? Stream, rent or buy it in the US, including on HBO Max, Amazon Video and Apple TV Store: current JustWatch availability with up-to-date prices.

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Full plot summary · contains spoilers

What Happens in undertone: Full Plot Summary

The whole story of undertone (2026) explained, from the opening scene to the final frame: every key event, every twist and what it all adds up to. Read it as a quick recap before the sequel, to check a scene you missed, or to finally understand what really happened.

Evy [Nina Kiri] Babic is a young woman raised in a Catholic household who now lives with her comatose mother, dedicating herself to her care. She and her friend Justin run The Undertone, a horror podcast that covers alleged supernatural events, with Evy tending to treat most claims as hoaxes while Justin remains convinced that something real is stirring beneath the surface. Their routine is upended when Justin receives an anonymous email that contains a cryptic string of letters and ten audio files, which they decide to play on the podcast.

The ten recordings come from a couple named Mike and Jessa, and Jessa speaks in her sleep. In the first recording, she sings "London Bridge" while asleep, and when Justin plays the file backward, he insists he can hear her whisper, "Mike, kill all." This unsettling moment drives Evy to explore hidden meanings in children’s songs, a line of inquiry that quickly becomes unsettling. When Evy tries playing her own favorite childhood lullaby, "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep," in reverse, she is shocked to hear the chilling message "lick the blood off." The more Evy investigates, the more she suspects something troubling is encoded in ordinary songs.

Soon after, Evy discovers she is six weeks pregnant. She confesses the news to her mother by her bedside, but she also admits she feels unfit to become a mother. She makes a tentative plan to visit a local women’s clinic, unsure of what awaits her. As she and Justin continue to sift through the Mike-and-Jessa recordings, more unsettling details emerge: Jessa’s voice in later clips seems to speak in gibberish that, when reversed, reveals the phrase "come in, Abyzou." Through their research, Evy and Justin learn that Abyzou is a demon from Mediterranean and European folklore, a figure said to cause miscarriages and to drive mothers to harm their own children out of jealousy because she herself was infertile.

Unnerving phenomena intensify around Evy. Her still-unconscious mother moves on her own, lights flicker without explanation, and a Virgin Mary statue Evy placed in the closet mysteriously appears in other parts of the house. The atmosphere grows increasingly claustrophobic as Evy grapples with her pregnancy, her supernatural discoveries, and the sense that something is watching from the shadows.

In a final, troubling twist within the audio files, Jessa insists she must “warn” someone who is listening, a line that hints at an impending danger. Justin tries to reply to the sender, but the email is automatically sent back to him. A caller, who claims to be Mike and Jessa’s neighbor, reveals that the couple was found dead in their home, their heads covered with plastic bags and walls canvassed in crayon drawings of babies; the autopsy shows Jessa was pregnant at the time of death. Another caller demands permission to speak to "Mary"—a name Evy had previously claimed she would someday use for her own child—and becomes relentless when Justin denies there is any such person. A final caller named Abby pleads for help calming a crying infant, but she ends up murdering the baby, leaving Evy and Justin pleading for mercy that is not granted.

As the tension peaks, Evy reveals that her mother has died, and she feels a crushing sense of guilt, believing she played a part in the loss by not praying for her. Rushing upstairs, Evy confronts a room transformed by fear: the walls are now covered in crayon drawings of Abyzou and of dead, bloodied infants. In a chilling moment, she sees her mother standing in the bathroom, and the scene erupts into a terrifying confrontation as she appears to be attacked while crying out for her to stop. The film closes on this unsettling convergence of myth, motherhood, and a family haunted by forces just out of reach, leaving Evy to confront the line between folklore and a very real, present danger.

Last updated: April 17, 2026 at 20:05

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Plot questions answered

undertone Plot Explained: Your Questions Answered

The questions people ask most about undertone (2026): what happens in the confusing scenes, why the characters do what they do, the twists, hidden details and what the ending means. Each answer contains spoilers.

Q1

What is Abyzou and why does the demon target pregnant women?

Abyzou is a demon from Mediterranean and European folklore known for causing miscarriages and driving mothers to murder their own children out of jealousy, since the demon herself was infertile. The demon targets pregnant women, including Evy and Jessa, using psychological manipulation and supernatural influence to fulfill this twisted purpose. The recordings sent to the podcast serve as warnings and instruments of the demon's malevolent will.

Foreshadowing: Earlier reversed audio hints at demonic summoning when Jessa says 'come in, Abyzou' backwards.

  • abyzou demon
  • pregnancy
  • miscarriage
  • folklore
  • infertility
Q2

Why does Evy feel responsible for her mother's death?

Evy feels responsible because she stopped praying for her comatose mother, believing her prayers had no effect. She views her refusal to maintain her faith as indirectly causing her mother's death, adding to her guilt and emotional burden during the demonic attack.

Foreshadowing: Evy's Catholic upbringing and doubt about prayer effectiveness were established early in the story.

  • evy mother death
  • guilt
  • prayer
  • catholic
  • comatose
Q3

What happened to Mike and Jessa from the audio recordings?

Mike and Jessa were found dead in their home with plastic bags over their heads. Jessa was pregnant at the time of their death, which connects their tragedy directly to the demon's pattern of targeting pregnant women. Their recordings were the warning messages that led Evy and Justin to discover Abyzou.

Foreshadowing: The final recording features Jessa urgently trying to warn someone who is listening.

  • mike jessa
  • death
  • pregnant
  • audio recordings
  • neighbor
Q4

What do the reversed children's songs reveal in the recordings?

When played backwards, the children's songs contain sinister messages. 'London Bridge' reveals 'Mike, kill all,' while 'Baa, Baa, Black Sheep' reveals 'lick the blood off.' These hidden messages demonstrate how Abyzou uses seemingly innocent media to communicate malevolent instructions and summon its influence.

Foreshadowing: Justin specifically plays the first recording backwards, claiming to hear hidden words.

  • reversed audio
  • london bridge
  • baa baa black sheep
  • hidden message
  • backwards
Q5

Why does the caller demand to speak to Mary?

The caller demands to speak to 'Mary' because that is the name Evy has always wanted to give her hypothetical child. The demon knows this personal detail and uses it to directly target Evy and her unborn baby, demonstrating the entity's intimate knowledge of its victims.

Foreshadowing: Evy mentions the name Mary while revealing her pregnancy to her mother.

  • mary name
  • caller
  • phone
  • pregnancy
  • child name
Q6

What happens to Abby and her baby during the phone calls?

Abby calls desperate for help calming her constantly crying child. Despite Evy and Justin's pleading, Abby murders the infant. This tragic call demonstrates the demon's ability to influence and corrupt other mothers, showing the widespread horror of Abyzou's power beyond just Evy.

Foreshadowing: The lore about Abyzou driving mothers to harm their children foreshadows this outcome.

  • abby
  • baby murder
  • phone call
  • maternal influence
  • demonic power
Q7

How does Abyzou communicate through the audio files?

Abyzou communicates through audio recordings by embedding messages in reverse audio that only become audible when played backwards. This includes warnings, commands, and the demon's name. The recordings were sent anonymously to The Undertone podcast, suggesting the demon actively spreads its presence through modern media.

Foreshadowing: The first recording establishes that Jessa speaks in her sleep, capturing the demonic messages.

  • audio files
  • demon communication
  • reverse audio
  • message
  • podcast
Q8

Why does the Virgin Mary statue keep moving around the house?

The Virgin Mary statue that Evy placed in the closet begins reappearing in different parts of the house as supernatural activity intensifies. This represents the demon's ability to manipulate objects and mock religious symbols, creating confusion and violating the sanctity of Evy's spiritual space.

Foreshadowing: Evy's Catholic background and the statue's placement establish it as a meaningful object.

  • virgin mary statue
  • moving
  • haunting
  • house
  • religious symbol
Q9

Does Evy survive at the end of the movie?

The movie ends with Evy being attacked by her reanimated mother in the bathroom while screaming for her to stop. The outcome is ambiguous but implies she does not survive, the ending is described as bleak with no resolution or escape, suggesting a fatal conclusion.

Foreshadowing: The escalating supernatural attacks throughout the film build toward this violent climax.

  • evy death
  • ending
  • climax
  • attack
  • mother reanimated
Q10

What do the crayon drawings on Evy's walls represent?

When Evy rushes upstairs, she finds the walls covered in crayon drawings depicting Abyzou and dead, bloodied infants. These images manifest the demon's presence in her home and represent the tragic fates of its victims, including the unborn children Abyzou targets.

Foreshadowing: The caller Abby's drawings and the couple's death scene foreshadow this imagery.

  • crayon drawings
  • abyzou
  • dead infants
  • walls
  • demonic imagery
Q11

Why does Abyzou use phone calls to contact the podcast?

Abyzou uses phone calls to spread its influence directly to listeners of The Undertone podcast, manifesting as desperate callers like Abby and those demanding 'Mary.' This demonstrates the demon's ability to infiltrate ordinary lives and manipulate people into performing horrific acts, expanding its reach beyond just the immediate recipients of the recordings.

Foreshadowing: The podcast's theme of investigating supernatural phenomena makes it a perfect conduit for demonic communication.

  • phone calls
  • demonic influence
  • podcast
  • spread
  • callers
Q12

Why does Evy feel unfit to be a mother despite wanting a child?

Evy reveals she feels unfit to be a mother despite wanting children, expressing fear and self-doubt about her ability to care for another life. This psychological struggle makes her particularly vulnerable to Abyzou's influence, as the demon specifically targets mothers with deep insecurities about their maternal abilities.

Foreshadowing: Evy's confession to her mother about feeling unfit establishes her emotional vulnerability early.

  • evy pregnancy
  • unfit mother
  • fear
  • self-doubt
  • maternal anxiety

Ending explained

What Happens at the End of undertone?

How undertone (2026) ends, in short: the final scene, the last twist and what it means for the characters. The full ending explained, with every spoiler, lives on its own page.

Read the full ending explained

Undertone concludes with a chilling descent into supernatural chaos, leaving the audience with a profound sense of dread rather than a neat resolution. Throughout the film, Evy struggles with the weight of mortality, caring for her dying mother while grappling with an unplanned pregnancy. This personal turmoil makes her the perfect target for the film's ambiguous entity, a demonic force that seems to delight in corrupting the sanctity of motherhood. As Evy and her co-host, Justin, investigate the final haunted phone recording, the barrier between the audio evidence and their reality shatters. They learn that the subjects of their investigation, Mike and Jessa, have met a grim end, and the recording reveals the sound of a woman killing her own child—a horrific echo of the film’s central themes.

The ending suggests that by exposing themselves to this cursed media, Evy and Justin have allowed the entity full access to their lives. The force manifests through a "haunted movie" concept referenced earlier in the story, a piece of media that allegedly compels its viewers toward suicide. The screen cuts to black before revealing the pair's ultimate fate, but the implication is clear: they are trapped. The entity, suggested to be demonic through subverted religious imagery, has successfully infiltrated Evy's sanctuary. It weaponizes her specific fears and life circumstances—her role as a caretaker and her potential role as a mother—turning the cycle of life and death against her.

Continue reading the ending (1 more paragraphs)

Ultimately, the film’s refusal to show Evy or Justin’s death is its most powerful statement. By denying the audience closure, the movie emphasizes that some questions regarding life, death, and the unknown remain terrifyingly unanswered. The entity does not offer explanations; it only offers torment. This ambiguity reinforces the idea that Evy was never in control, and her investigation was merely a mechanism for her own undoing. The ending stands as a bleak reminder of the cost of meddling with forces beyond human comprehension, ensuring the horror lingers long after the credits roll.

undertone ending explained in full

Movie threads

More Movies Like undertone, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes undertone tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Found media horror mysteries like undertone

Characters unravel a terrifying mystery through discovered audio, video, or documents. If you liked the investigative dread of undertone, you'll enjoy these movies where characters uncover terrifying truths through discovered audio, video, or documents. Explore similar supernatural horror stories and psychological thrillers built around piecing together a sinister puzzle.

  • investigative
  • paranoid
  • unsettling
  • sinister
  • claustrophobic
  • ominous
  • Tone: dark, investigative, paranoid
  • Pacing: steady, methodical
Why these movies?

The story pattern: Narratives in this thread follow a procedural, investigative structure. A protagonist discovers a cache of disturbing media that hints at a larger, often supernatural, threat. As they analyze the clues, the horror escalates from curiosity to direct peril, pulling them deeper into a mystery they can no longer escape. The story is driven by the slow, methodical reveal of information.

Why they belong together: These movies are grouped by their shared use of found media as a primary narrative device and source of horror. They create a unique sense of immersion and paranoia, as the viewer and protagonist decipher clues together. The tone is consistently dark and investigative, with a steady pacing that builds dread through revelation rather than action.

Maternal anxiety horror films like undertone

Stories where the terror is intertwined with the fears and guilt of motherhood. For viewers who appreciated the heavy emotional weight and maternal horror of undertone, this list features similar movies exploring pregnancy anxiety, grief, and supernatural threats to children. Discover more psychological horror stories where personal terror amplifies the supernatural dread.

  • oppressive
  • anxious
  • desperate
  • sinister
  • unsettling
  • ominous
  • Tone: dark, oppressive, desperate
  • Pacing: steady, escalating
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative journey in these films is an internal one, focused on a protagonist grappling with maternal fears—be it for an unborn child, a lost one, or one under threat. The external horror, whether supernatural or human, acts as a manifestation of this internal anxiety. The protagonist's arc is often a desperate struggle to overcome guilt and protect what she holds dear, frequently culminating in a tragic or bleak outcome.

Why they belong together: These films are united by their central theme of maternal anxiety as a core engine for horror. They share a heavy emotional weight, a dark and oppressive tone, and a focus on psychological terror over physical violence. The experience is characterized by a sense of overwhelming dread and deep personal stakes that resonate on a primal level.

Every angle

undertone (2026) Explained: Plot, Ending, Timeline & Characters

Everything about undertone in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning, the ending explained and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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