Summary

Steven Soderbergh’s film, Presence, offers a unique perspective and interesting family dynamics. The film’s technical achievements are impressive and give the story a trapped feeling. The script is excellent and efficiently tells the story, keeping its focus on the ghost and its connection to Chloe.

The belief that spirits traverse places they have unfinished business has long existed. Whether they were taken from the world unjustly or remain to look after loved ones, people have gone on record to share their paranormal experiences. In his latest, Steven Soderbergh tackles one family’s belief in the supernatural after a tragedy causes them to uproot their lives to a new home. Written by David Koepp, Presence explores the feeling of not being alone in an unfamiliar environment. Without relying on cheap jump scares, Soderbergh’s psychological horror thriller is a shattering mystery about instinct that will chill you.

Presence is a horror-thriller film directed by Steven Soderbergh and released in 2024. The film centers around a family who move into a new home only to discover they aren’t alone – and their houseguest may be more than human. ProsSteven Soderbergh’s film is unique in its storytelling from a ghost’s perspective The film’s technical achievements are incredible, nicely avoiding jump scares The script is excellent and doesn’t linger longer than it needs to ConsThe film has too many fade-away shots

Presence feels like an inescapable trap that slowly rips away your inhibitions. It’s brilliant, as it models the behaviors of the ghost throughout the story. This ghost is desperate to do something, anything to fulfill its final desires, yet it’s trapped in a home and forced to witness the mundanity of the Payne’s lives. Rebecca (Lucy Liu) and Chris (Chris Sullivan) with their predictable marital bickering; Tyler (Eddy Maday) with his better-than-thou attitude and bullying his sister; and Chloe (Callina Liang), with whom the entity shares a connection due to the loss of her best friend from an unforeseen overdose.

The Experimental Direction Creates An Ambiance Far Better Than Jump Scares
The entity becomes familiar with each member of the family but only chooses to reveal itself to Chloe until an act of desperation is needed. It’s a bleak vantage point — to be somewhere for a reason and not know what it is. This sense of important belonging brings an uneasiness to the atmosphere in a way that is more effective than if we’d gotten the family’s perspective. It eliminates the expectation there will be jump scares, since we’re already privy to the spirit’s existence. Instead, the anxiety-inducing moments come from the interactions of the characters with each other.

Without relying on cheap jump scares, Soderbergh’s psychological horror thriller is a shattering mystery about instinct that will chill you.

With such an intentional focus on the ghost, it’s not far-fetched to imagine a terrifying experience, but Presence is far from that. Soderbergh’s film feels a bit experimental in how it conveys trauma within a dysfunctional family dynamic, resulting in a more psychologically tumultuous ride. This is all glued together by the amazing performances of the cast. Standouts include Liu’s fiery assertiveness, her mothering both nagging and careless. Liang, a newcomer, holds her own, bearing the emotional weight of the script, while Sullivan plays the lovable dad, whom the family relies on for comfort and support.

Presence’s Technical Elements Are Bound To Induce Anxiety
The biggest selling point is the technical achievements throughout the film. Soderbergh tells a first-person story through a ghost’s perspective. It’s clear the entity is on some sort of mission (which is nicely revealed by the film’s end), but the camera’s navigation to denote its curiosity works perfectly. The singular location in which Soderbergh tells this story also reflects the confinement of the ghost and enables some great shots that could otherwise go unnoticed. However, if there was ever a time to get rid of those fade-away transitions, it would be here, as they are completely overused.

Related Steven Soderbergh’s 10 Best Movies, According To Letterboxd Between Ocean’s Eleven and King of the Hill, Soderbergh is a master of both Hollywood movies and independent cinema, and he has made several classics.

Still, Presence is an overall success when you consider it as a psychological thriller with the intent of dissecting a broken family dynamic while deconstructing the genre. With great technical achievements and an overflow of anxiety-inducing character interactions, it’s a film worth seeing by any means necessary. Koepp’s script is refreshingly tight and never lingers beyond its intention. Sure, Presence doesn’t hold a candle to some of the scariest films ever made, but fear isn’t the point of this film. Rest assured though, by the film’s end, you will be left with a sense of overwhelming devastation.

Presence premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival

Presence (2024) Release Date January 19, 2024 Cast Lucy Liu , Julia Fox , Chris Sullivan Runtime 85 Minutes Writers David Koepp Studio(s) Sugar23