Presence (2025)

​"Presence" stars Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan, Callina Liang, Eddy Maday, West Mulholland, Julia Fox, Natalie Woodlams-Torr, and Lucas Papaelias.  Released on January 24, 2025, the film has a family discovering an unknown presence in their new home.

The film was directed by Steven Soderbergh, who also directed films such as "King of the Hill", "Traffic", "Ocean's Eleven", "Contagion", "Magic Mike", and "Logan Lucky".  It's not always easy moving into a new home.  Different cities, different environments, and, of course, new people to meet.  It can be pretty alienating compared to our usual surroundings, but we eventually learn to adapt to these changes in due time.  However, there's always someone or some ghost who tends to make us think otherwise, especially one that's already occupied at our new house.  2025 is looking to be a pretty solid year, not just for movie fans but also for followers of the innovative pioneer of modern independent cinema, Steven Soderbergh, as he's got two films from different genres releasing this year.  One of those movies puts a unique spin on the usual haunted house narrative by showcasing the events from the spirit's perspective.  Does its unique premise have enough discomforting frights to continue this year's month of horrors, or are we better off moving back to our old house?  Let's find out.

The story centers on a family consisting of the mother, Rebecca (Liu), her husband Chris (Sullivan), elder brother Tyler (Maday), and younger sister Chloe (Liang).  They move into a new home in the suburbs for a fresh start, but the process of adapting to their new surroundings and fixing their dynamic is far from easy.  Amid their personal drama, the family is unaware that an unknown presence has already occupied the house and is watching their every move.  As tensions grow, so does the family's realization of the spirit's presence as its questionable motives begin to unravel.

While I haven't watched many movies from Soderbergh, I've seen enough to respect his distinct vision of Hollywood's traditional genres, including comedy and drama.  "Contagion" and "Logan Lucky" were my first exposures to the director's expertise in filmmaking, leading me to check out a couple more of his recent works, mainly "Unsane" and "Kimi".  Regarding these four movies, "Unsane" remains my personal favorite film from Soderbergh regarding the cinematography and unnerving portrayal of questioning one's own sanity.  I know, I know.  I needed to watch more of his movies.  Fortunately, I was given the chance to do so this year, thanks to Soderbergh's foray into supernatural territory.

Soderbergh's name may have grabbed my attention, but the film's premise got me hooked on "Presence" the most.  Instead of focusing on the human protagonists like most horror movies do, "Presence" puts the audience in the shoes of the supernatural spying on its victims.  So, in a way, we do the haunting with the supernatural ourselves instead of being haunted.  "In a Violent Nature" has a similar concept, but it's from the "human" killer's perspective and not in first-person.  So, I guess this makes "Presence" the latest in my series of POV film experiences to witness the daily life of an antagonistic threat firsthand.  At first glance, it may seem like another typical supernatural scare-fest involving characters getting spooked or killed by a spiritual force.  However, I was surprised that this wasn't the case, and it's all the better for it.

The most crucial thing to know about "Presence" is that this is another example of a film not resembling anything the trailers indicated.  The marketing made it out to be a typical haunted house movie consisting of cheap jump scares and violent kills, similar to the horror movies from Blumhouse.  However, there's actually more to the film than we are led to believe.  While it does involve the presence roaming around the house, it doesn't do any scaring or harming like most ghosts do.  It's more of an observer than a vengeful ghost as it views its guests dealing with their personal problems, although there are a few occurrences when it interacts with something or someone, but not by much.  I would best describe "Presence" as a character-driven family drama that happens to have a ghost in it, in which the family deals with the aftermath of a tragic incident, mainly Chloe.  It's straightforward, restrained, and slow-burning despite it being 85 minutes long.  Considering its gimmick, this short runtime seems appropriate so as to not overstay its welcome.  However, it's also engrossing, subtly unnerving, and satisfyingly constructed.

"Presence" is another "horror" movie that successfully ditches the traditional jump scares and cheap supernatural tactics in favor of an engagingly ambitious and well-acted drama depicting loss, trauma, and redemption.  But, of course, it's another film that may prove to be understandably divisive, probably more so than Soderbergh's other works.  With the involvement of the silent poltergeist, many audiences familiar with modern supernatural movies would assume it'd bring hell on the grieving family from its perspective.  Instead, the poltergeist is more of a harmless being seeking to fulfill its unknown purpose.  Because of this, the film doesn't pack in a lot of frights as they thought it would.  It's a strong case of audiences relying on the movie's marketing to set their expectations, especially ones involving supernatural horror.  Luckily, I tend to keep my expectations at a minimum despite seeing the trailer a few times, which helps me see a clearer picture of what Soderbergh is attempting to accomplish.

While it's clear that "Presence" won't impress everyone, including horror fans, I'm one of the few people who admired it for thinking outside the studio system box.  In addition to directing, Soderbergh was also in charge of the cinematography and editing in "Presence".  While the cut-to-black transitions can be a bit repetitive, everything else was why I respected Steven Soderbergh as an avant-garde filmmaker.  He's another director who understands that the basics of horror don't just come from the cheap kills, demonic spirits, and jump scares.  They're also from the human condition, dealing with aspects of death, sadness, morality, and obsession from a psychological term.  The latter aspect came from the film's third act, which I won't spoil, but I will say that it's more unnerving than the unknown poltergeist's presence regarding the tension and David Koepp's screenplay.  Koepp previously collaborated with Soderbergh with "Kimi", which I thought was a good thriller, so it made sense why they teamed up again for "Presence".  While the screenplay is limited in its character arcs and location, David Koepp made the most of the situation by making the family likable amid its challenging themes and authenticity.  It would be interesting to see what Soderbergh and Koepp have got cooking for "Black Bag".

Slow-burn movies aren't usually my cup of tea, especially ones that struggle to grab my attention through their pacing.  However, they can be pretty enticing in their dialogue-driven sequences when they're done right.  Fortunately, "Presence" becomes another slow-burn film that immediately grabbed my attention and never let go until its shocking conclusion, especially when Soderbergh utilized its POV gimmick and pacing to great effect.  The long-take, wide-angle cinematography and panning shots offer a compelling sense of immersion as if I were the ghost itself, and the sound mixing was brilliant for the specter's actions.  I usually enjoy POV gimmicks in movies because they put the audience right into the action, emphasizing the suspense and danger that appear before their eyes.  Found footage films also provide a similar perspective, but stepping inside one of the characters' shoes added much to the authentic "realism" of the scenarios.  Most of them may not be balanced well with their straightforward plots, but those that did, including "Presence", can create an engaging experience reminiscent of a simulation ride.

I will also credit the cast for carrying the film's slow-burn appeal with their engaging performances.  Lucy Liu and Chris Sullivan performed very well as the parents whose own personal issues took a toll on their strained marriage.  However, the film's real star is Callina Liang, who made her film acting debut in the English-language remake of "Bad Genius" last year.  She effectively portrays a mourning Chloe who seeks companionship while dealing with the loss of her best friend.  This film was my first exposure to the young actress, who got her career started with the British teen drama series "Tell Me Everything", and I wouldn't mind seeing her tackle more roles in the future based on what I've seen.  It's far from award-worthy, but Liang made a satisfying effort with her talents to embody a teenage daughter's depressed state.  Eddy Maday was also good in his performance as Tyler, Chloe's arrogant older brother, with an arc worthy of his personality and the film's message.

Overall, "Presence" is an ambitious and thematically engaging multi-genre showcase that compensates for its lack of scares with a well-constructed and subtly discomforting aura.  Understandably, the film isn't as frightening as the trailers suggested, as it favors its slow-burning essence and character-driven drama rather than building itself up to a far-fetched and chaotic finale.  However, it also means that Steven Soderbergh continues to express his unique and inventive creativity by subverting people's expectations of a film's traditional genre aspects.  While his approach may not work for everyone, it is still an admirable and marvelously directed attempt that has a compelling narrative worthy of its thematic depth, somber tone, and POV gimmick.  Regarding its cast, Soderbergh's direction, cinematography, sound editing, and David Koepp's screenplay, the film makes its presence known by being the first great movie of 2025 in my eyes.  All I can really say is if you're planning on watching "Presence", don't go into the film expecting it to be another scare-fest like the other supernatural horror movies.  If you keep that in mind, you might feel the same way I did toward this refreshing perspective of the genre...or not.  I won't judge if you don't.  I would also recommend it to those who enjoyed Soderbergh's other distinctive works.

A-