Presence

It is very intense in it's filming. There is no hiding in this film, from an actors perspective. There is no need for indepth character development, and I think that's what I liked about it. We didn't need an hour of backstory, we got just enough to help the story progress.

Lucy Liu is not the star player in this film. She plays her role convincingly. The storyline is subtle and the way it is filmed is key. There is some subtleties that won't make sense until it's all over.

It is not quite as revolutionary as some reviews have made it out to be, but it is different and I really appreciated it for that.

You are kept in suspense, but not in an exhausting way. You keep watching because you know there's an explanation but you're not teased to get there.

I enjoyed it. A nice little ghost story from a different perspective and no expectation of a commercialised series of films. Just slimmed down, basic story telling.

Recommend a watch.

Throughout his career, Steven Soderbergh has dabbled in many different genres, to varying degrees of success. Take a glance at his filmography, and you'll see thrillers, dramas, comedies- an eclectic mixture of movies. From the tantalizing intrigue of 'Sex, Lies, and Videotape,' to the silly hijinks of the 'Ocean's Eleven' movies and the brilliant biopic 'Behind the Candelabra,' Soderbergh refuses to be pigeonholed. Although sometimes he faulters- 'Full Frontal' didn't really work and 'The Laundromat' was exceedingly underwhelming- generally his films are worth a watch.

His newest, 'Presence,' is not. Billed as a psychological horror, the film follows the Payne family's move to a new home. From the outset, there are cracks in their individual relationships, which become heightened when the daughter, Chloe, starts feeling a presence within the building. Is the mysterious entity a mischievous ghost, is Chloe suffering from some kind of mental illness, or is something completely different afoot?

David Koepp wrote the screenplay, and, in fairness, he eschews many of the traditional tropes found within haunted house flicks. However, he also avoids anything remotely thrilling, profound or engaging. It is less horror and more teen drama, and a slow-moving one at that, with caricatures instead of characters as well as dialogue that sounds like bad improv. Further, proceedings come to a halt so abruptly it makes one feel that he lost the pages for his original ending, deciding to make one up on the spot.

As an aside, there is a serious problem regarding the film's marketing. Watch the trailers, and you see ads for a horror movie. You are promised it will "terrify" and is "frightening." You are not told it is about as frightening as a tortoise chasing a snail, and somehow not as fast-paced. The trailers are deliberately misleading, which can only lead to disappointment. (Anecdotally, during the screening this reviewer attended, two people walked out after the first twenty-five minutes, while a young woman loudly denounced Soderbergh for lying during the end credits, claiming she was more scared when she looked in a mirror).

The film does not deliver what it said on the tin. It is a melodrama, essentially, with a ghost thrown in for a bit of flavour. Despite that, there are some interesting moments and canny observations. The portrayal of the mother's complex relationships with her two children rings true, capturing the nuances of family dynamics with authenticity. Similarly, her strained interactions with the father provide a poignant look into the cracks that form in a marriage under pressure.

In addition, Soderbergh's cinematography is striking. Each scene is captured in a single, unbroken take, immersing the audience in a continuous flow of tension and unease. This technique cleverly blurs the line between observer and participant, making the audience feel as if they themselves are the Presence, silently witnessing the unravelling of the Payne family's life like some kind of ghostly voyeur.

However, the scene transitions are jarring, each capped off with a cut to black that feels like the work of a film-student who hasn't got the hang of editing. This feels disjointed and less polished than one would expect from a director of Soderburgh's calibre. In addition, the pacing is laboriously slow, meaning the film suffers from a dearth of momentum or drive. At 84 minutes, it is a short film; Soderberg's editing makes it drag.

Conversely, April Lasky's minimalist production design deserves mention. She and her team have meticulously crafted the Payne family's new home to be both inviting and subtly disquieting. The house itself feels lived-in, cluttered bedrooms full of personal touches giving it an air of authenticity. Imogen Lee's set decoration, from the furniture to the family photos on the walls, helps ground the story in a palpable reality. Furthermore, Zack Ryan's muted score is quite brilliant, subtly creating an eerie sense of dread (that Koepp's narrative sorely lacks) drifting throughout the film like a malign wind.

Moreover, Lucy Liu delivers a compelling portrayal of the mother, grappling with her strained relationships and the growing tension within the family. Her nuanced performance captures the emotional turmoil and complexity of her character, bringing an authenticity that grounds the story amidst the supernatural elements. Chris Sullivan is similarly strong as the father, bringing to life his insecurities with ease. He creates a character that feels well-rounded, despite Koepp's limited characterisation.

On the other hand, as Chloe, Callina Liang comes across as a bit wooden, lacking the emotional range to fully engage the audience. Although by no means terrible, Liang's overall performance feels flat and she fails to elevate the character into someone compelling. Eddy Maday's work as her brother is similarly unexceptional. Further, West Mulholland is insidiously smug and one-note as Ryan, an acquaintance of Chloe's. He isn't given much of a chance, though, lumbered with the most awkward lines in the film; which he recites unconvincingly, as if he were in a bad school-play he didn't fully understand.

In conclusion, Steven Soderbergh's 'Presence' is far away from his best work. Although there are some notable elements, such as striking cinematography and strong performances from Lucy Liu and Chris Sullivan, the film ultimately fails to deliver on its promise of psychological horror. David Koepp's screenplay lacks both thrills and depth, resulting in a slow-moving teen melodrama with caricatures instead of compelling characters. In short, despite a few praise-worthy elements, 'Presence' doesn't leave much of an impression.

I usually don't like saying this but Presence just ended up feeling like a prolonged gimmick of a movie. Because despite the fact that I do think the main idea is quite interesting I don't really think it ended up sustaining a whole feature. If it was a 20-30 minute short I think this premise could've worked wonders and felt like a very unique take on a ghost story. But as is, despite some really impressive camera work, it just ends up feeling like there's a lot of bloat which comes in the form of character drama only some of which I thought actually worked. The transitions between scenes are very abrupt and after a while I felt like I was watching the same 2 or 3 scenes over and over again. The dialogue and the acting can feel quite stilted and a lot of the drama going on between this family doesn't really amount to much with a last minute twist that felt like it belonged in a different movie. For only an 85 minute movie it drags which again goes back to my point that this idea feels better suited to a short. There's a few interesting ideas and more than a few points where I really felt like I was getting what Soderbergh was going for but this really just ended up feeling like a bit of a missed opportunity. I really like the idea and always compliment a film that has a premise I wish I'd have come up with myself. I just wish the actually execution was on the same level.

Steven Soderbergh is one of those directors who is always interesting to watch, especially considering he regularly straddles the line between independent and mainstream cinema, with mixed results, but always with an interesting take. This time, he delves into ghost stories with a wonderfully subjective direction that fits perfectly with the director's most interesting work.

A story about ghosts.

While this isn't the first time we've been put in the perspective of a ghost as a protagonist in cinema, screenwriter David Koepp teams up with Steven Soderbergh to give us an interesting film that leaves us with the satisfaction of a job well done. It may not be completely well-rounded and won't be for all audiences, but it's a film worth giving a chance because it has enough to please us. Facing a subjective character, and even more so the fact that this character is a ghostly presence, makes it interesting to follow. Add to that the fact that the director knows how to perfectly fit the camera as the protagonist of the film. The gaze with which he transports us is also the gaze we have as viewers when we invade this conflictive family, with which we never fully understand its details, but we do feel part of it.

Steven Soderbergh deconstructs the horror genre.

One thing we can be clear about when we talk about this film is that it's just a movie Soderbergh could have made. The director's career has always been considered one of someone who doesn't limit himself to things and always seeks to deliver his own score for what he's filming, and here he does it again with a horror genre that the director transforms into a drama, but one that's frightening, that gives you goosebumps, and that makes you uncomfortable like a faithful horror story, but without any jump scares. The director isn't looking for that, but rather to confront us with the terror of death, the terror of what we don't see, the terror of what we don't control, and he does this in a meticulous and studied way, with a thoughtful direction that only he could have achieved. It's a family drama that is terrifying and frightening because we simply have a family that isn't an example; it's a family that intrigues and frightens with its presence.

A satisfying, yet daring twist.

While the film lacks much of a plot and at times seems repetitive in its actions, it's the path to its personally unexpected twist, albeit with small hints that hinted at it, that's the great achievement we're left with after watching the film. While it's a twist that will have its pros and cons, it's quite daring and accomplishes its goal of instilling emotions in the viewer, and with that, the job is done. We may or may not agree with the decisions, but it's a twist that won't leave you indifferent and complements an interesting film that ranks among the highlights of the year so far.

Conclusion.

A delightful film with moments inspired by its director, positioning it as the director's most notable work of recent times. An interesting development, a pair of well-crafted characters and their performances, and a family drama that turns into horror as we begin to understand everything that's happening in that house, with a ghostly look in our eyes that invites you to stay and enjoy the film.

This film leaves me feeling a lot like I felt after watching Neon's Longlegs in 2024. A quirky approach to a horror story, mostly well-executed, but with a story that ends up feeling inauthentic and clumsy. Personally I'd much rather watch a film that tries to do something different, even if it doesn't quite stick the landing, than a thousand cheap jumpscare horror clones. Presence did something different so I applaud it.

Pro: genuinely chilling at times: the scene with Natalie Woolams-Torres left the hairs on my arms standing on end.

Pro: mostly good, natural scriptwriting and acting.

Pro: just the right amount of levity at just the right times to keep the audience going without getting too silly.

Con: as the plot gets into its late stages it just doesn't feel right. I'm not sure how I'd have written it instead but there must have been room for a dark, natural and believable way to take the characters where they needed to be without *that* dialogue.

Con: the audience is limited by the characters' likeability here. I think the family father seems compelling but mother, daughter and son all left me feeling a little... uninterested in their fates? In one case this is a deliberate device to drive the plot and make the ending impactful but in the other two it seems inexcusable.

Con: I'm here partly for Julia Fox and she's barely in the movie. Boo! Give me a director's cut complete with 45 minutes of freehold contract negotiations and I'll bump my review up to an 8.