A paranormal podcast turns frighteningly tiresome in "Undertone," a horror movie that entices its viewers to listen closely for the intricacies of its terror.

But the truth is it's mostly an exercise in futility until its closing minutes create some genuinely creepy moments. But even then, this minimalist horror experiment is only minimally worth the investment.

Nina Kiri ("The Handmaid's Tale") plays Evy, and she's basically a one-woman show in writer-director Ian Tuason's stripped-down debut feature. She plays a host of "Undertone," a paranormal podcast she co-hosts with her friend Justin (Adam DiMarco), who is heard but never seen.

Justin is overseas, so they tape their podcast very late at night, which fits the theme of their show but also makes every little bump in the night sound even scarier than it already is. Upstairs in Evy's house is her mother (Michèle Duquet), who is on her deathbed.

Ominous environment established, Evy and Justin dive into their latest episode, which involves an email he's received from a listener. Attached are 10 audio files, each filled with mysterious voices, sometimes containing nursery rhymes, which are sometimes run backwards in order to search for scary clues buried within.

First things first: weren't these two taught to never open email attachments from untrusted sources? Second things second: Isn't any nursery rhyme going to sound demented when played in reverse, late at night, in an empty home with a dying woman upstairs?

Tuason, working with what is very clearly an extremely limited budget, does effective things with his environment, which brings to mind the small-scale anxiety of 2022's "Skinamarink." But that tense mood he creates from the outset begins to wane over time as the audio files Evy and Justin delve into turn from terrifying to tedious.

The religious imagery and iconography Tuason throws in, as well as the folklore of certain figures and stories, feel cribbed from other scary movies and horror texts.

He does show restraint by not going for jump scares — the film is anti-jump scare, which creates a mood of dread, especially given the way modern audiences have come to expect them — and builds to a genuinely disturbing finish that pumps up the volume of what is otherwise a very quiet experience.

"Undertone" does successfully establish Tuason as a skilled filmmaker who can do a lot with a little. But one episode of this particular podcast is more than enough.

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'UNDERTONE'

Grade: C

MPA rating: R (for language)

Running time: 1:33

How to watch: Now in theaters

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