The following article contains minor spoilers for Presence.
Soderbergh’s ghost story follows the Payne family as they move to a new beautiful house in the suburbs. Chloe, Rebekah and Chris' teenage daughter, begin sensing something in the house, and quickly, everyone in the family acknowledges the presence of a ghostly entity. After trying to communicate with the ghost, the Paynes realize it’s fruitless.The entity has an objective, and that is to protect Chloe. Whatever the consequences.
‘Presence’ Stars Lucy Liu & Chris Sullivan on Steven Soderbergh’s Horror Experiment
Lucy Liu & Chris Sullivan discuss working with Steven Soderbergh on the horror film ‘Presence’ and compare his process with Quentin Tarantino’s.
Presencestars Callina Liang, Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan, Eddy Maday, Julia Fox, West Mulholland, Lucas Papaelias, and Natalie Woolams-Torres, among others. The film was written by Hollywood veteran David Koepp, who has penned screenplays for projects like the first twoJurassic Parkmovies,Mission: ImpossibleandWar of the Worlds. Koepp is no stranger to the world of ghosts, having written and directedKevin Bacon’s horror featuresStir of EchoesandYou Should Have Left.
After making heads turn in 2024 at the Sundance Film Festival, NEON picked upPresencefor distribution. Despite a lukewarm response at the box office (it only made a little over $10 million), the film was well-received by critics. By the time of writing, it boasts an 88% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The audience rating, a.k.a. the Popcornmeter, registers a far more divisive 52% score. All of which suggests you need to check the film out for yourself.
Is ‘Presence’ Scary Enough to Satisfy Horror Fans?
As familiar as the plot sounds,Presenceoffers plenty of welcome surprisesfor horror fans. A redefining film that presents a bold change from the norm,Presenceis shot from the first-person perspective…but it isn’t from the perspective of the characters. Instead, it’s the ghost’s point of view. While many would think that the film’s unique visual undertaking shouldn’t work, Soderbergh achieves a clever and emotional experience with this approach. Combined with an excellent script and great performances, the director makes surePresenceis unlike anything genre fans have seen before.
Soderbergh is known for breaking the barriersof cinematic storytelling. Sure, he has made high-profile movies likeOcean’s Elevenand it’s sequels (though, even they offer some bold creative choices), but he often comes back to the independent movie universe and tweaks the rules. Such was the case with theunderrated psychological thrillerUnsane, a movie which was shot entirely on an iPhone.
The director decided to return to horror with this rule-bending movie that manages to creep you out with great special effects and a highly-choreographed camera style. Crucially, it’s also scary, especially in the final act, when you start to get the sense that the entity is growing more and more desperate.
