Undertone

Shaun Munro

After years of dreaming about making my own films, I finally picked up a camera and made my directorial debut with the low-budget horror-comedy short BREAKFAST in 2024. The film played at more than a dozen festivals in the UK and US (including London FrightFest).
The response to BREAKFAST was enormously encouraging and energised me to swiftly start work on my follow-up project, the cosmic horror short UNDERTONE.
For years the costs and logistics involved with filmmaking kept my dreams out of reach, but with cinema-quality digital cameras now more easily accessible than ever, I am able to produce left-field genre shorts with a strong DIY/handcrafted element.

Director Statement

I’m a huge fan of single-location horror films, given their intimate, immersive potential. In that vein, UNDERTONE nods enthusiastically to classic genre chamber-pieces – especially THE EVIL DEAD.
Much of UNDERTONE was a solo production as both actor and director, filmed over a week in September 2024 in the small Welsh village of Coedpoeth. It was incredibly challenging wearing so many hats myself, but ultimately deeply satisfying.
Near the end of shooting, my wife Dawn graciously joined to help execute shots requiring camera movement, adding a more dynamic element to the visuals.
UNDERTONE was shot with a can-do DIY spirit throughout – even literally building my own camera dolly with wood, skateboard wheels, and plumbing pipe (which we named Jolene, in honour of Dolly Parton).
Surreal special effects were meanwhile created through low-fi macrophotography techniques, using a combination of paints, oils, and milk.
The team was completed in post-production by the fantastically talented composer Caden Stone, who developed a gorgeous synth score nodding to John Carpenter, and terrific voice actors Toby Norton and Eliza Chadwick.
Thank you for considering my film, and I hope my passion and commitment is evident even without a big budget or sizable crew.