Time: 85 Minutes
Age Rating: R16– Violence, cruelty, drug use & offensive language
Cast:
Lucy Liu as Rebekah Payne
Chris Sullivan as Chris Payne
Callina Liang as Chloe Payne
Eddy Maday as Tyler Payne
West Mulholland as Ryan Caldwell
Julia Fox as Cece
Director: Steven Soderbergh

I knew Presence as being Steven Soderbergh’s latest movie, was about a ghost haunting a house and the camera would take place from the point of view of the ghost. Otherwise, I wasn’t sure what I was in for, but I quite liked it.

David Koepp’s script is definitely sincere and endearing and that is probably what eventually got me on board with the story and invested with it, despite some issues including some dialogue which felt a little off. It’s fairly straightforward and as far as ghost stories go, it’s not experimental in the writing or story fronts compared to the directing, with it being a melancholic story about how grief and trauma breaks down a family. I wasn’t sure about the movie as it was beginning but eventually it worked for me. It definitely should be noted that Presence isn’t a horror movie despite it taking place from the perspective of a ghost haunting a house, it’s more a family drama with a supernatural element to it. It’s short at 90 minutes in length and I felt that it worked for the movie. The brisk runtime means that we get snapshots of the family, their lives and the dynamic between them. Some scenes show bits of the relationships and dynamics between family members and introduce elements like hints about Lucy Liu’s work life, but they don’t evolve into subplots or having payoffs by the end. However, I think that works for the movie. It also ended on a pretty good note.

The cast work quite well, it mainly consists of the main family with Callina Liang, Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan and Eddy Mady. Liang and Sullivan are particularly great. One other supporting performance didn’t work quite as well as it needed to be, however.

Steven Soderbergh’s experimental direction worked for me. Again, one of the most notable aspects about the movie is that the camera takes place from the perspective of the entity haunting the house and the family. It’s done pretty well as the camera glides through the house and occasionally characters sensing that something might be there with them. It has quite a good atmosphere throughout. It’s unsettling in a different way, not in the sense that the entity may be planning nefarious things, but rather that we feel like a voyeur peeping into this family’s life, like we aren’t supposed to be watching them.

Even with some issues with the writing, Presence is a straightforward yet experimental, atmospheric, existential and unique haunted house story that’s well directed.