Looking at what is coming up, 2025 could be a big year for horror cinema. Sure, Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man didn’t leave much of an impression, but there is anticipation with upcoming releases like the return of Osgood Perkins with The Monkey and Ryan Coogler stepping away from Marvel with his vampiric Sinners. And now Steven Soderbergh is dabbling is the realm of ghosts with Presence, which originally premiered at Sundance and is now finally released at your nearest theater.
However, it is worth noting that Soderbergh’s latest isn’t strictly horror and certainly doesn’t play with the conventions of the ghostly chiller, at least initially. When it comes to ghost stories, the common rule is that you don’t reveal the ghost for the most part as told through the POV of the live protagonist who feels and eventually haunted by the supernatural presence. In the case of Soderbergh’s film, it opens with the first-person perspective of the Presence itself who roams through a large suburban house, which is eventually bought by a family of four.
Throughout Soderbergh’s career, specifically since the start of this century when he started delving into digital filmmaking, he always been about the process of experimenting with the way you can approach visual storytelling in different genres. As well as serving as his own cinematographer and editor, the two million-budgeted Presence allows Soderbergh to push the idea of the camera as an unseen observant to the events that are happening, shown through long takes. There will be viewers who will be frustrated by this approach, but fortunately the film has more to offer than being a technical gimmick.
Instead of relying the Presence itself, which occasionally moves some stuff around to create a disturbance, Soderbergh’s camera is interested in the mundanity of this family, which is going through a rough time, particularly the daughter Chloe (Callina Liang), who is grieving the death of her best friend Nadia. As much as her older brother Tyler (Eddy Maday) and mother Rebecca (Lucy Liu) think that Chloe is going through the emotions that will pass in time, her father Chris (Chris Sullivan) is much more aware and is willing to help, even if he doesn’t know how. All four leads are terrific, especially when they all share a scene where you can see the family cracks and eventually realizing what is happening supernaturally.
The film is at its best during the initial half when you are getting used to its visual language while showcasing the everyday lives of these characters within the household. Once the family become more aware of the Presence, the flaws become apparent. Written by David Koepp, who is no stranger to the supernatural – having written and directed Stir of Echoes and Ghost Town – the script becomes more conventional in the second half, introducing a number of supporting players including a medium who comes by to investigate. Fortunately, Presence pays off in a thrilling climax that may not have all the answers, but embodies what you love about the best ghost stories.
