Presence

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.

I saw this at a secret screening, which is where you don't know what the movie is going to be.

The movie takes a while to get into anything. You're watching the family settle to their new home which, with movies like paranormal, didn't seem boring. Unfortunately in the case of this movie, the script and subsequent acting from some individuals made it hard to get into/ watch at some points.

During the climax of the movie, the monologue from a certain character (it will make sense what I'm saying when you watch it, I just don't want to spoil anything) was a hard watch. It felt like a school drama performance. This is probably due to a poor script and acting.

The movie as a whole is fine, I wouldn't pay to see it in the cinema, I recomend waiting for it to come out on a streaming service.

While I appreciate Soderburgh trying something new, there were way too many missed opportunities to make this movie feel anything other than gimmicky. Don't get me wrong, it was a good attempt at a ghost story but the tone of the movie got tripped up on adding too many distracting elements. It seemed more experimental than anything else; the characters felt forced (especially the parents), the foreshadowing was over the top, and the last ten minutes undid any possible horror that I originally hoped I would find. Definitely walked away feeling disappointed but only because the events leading up to it left too many open ended questions. (One of the biggest being why they would leave their children in an obviously haunted house (this is not a spoiler, it's literally the title of the movie) and then say "make good decisions." Dumb.)

Presence is a well constructed, drama-centred ghost story with a very effective story-telling gimmick. The short runtime and tiny cast and set served for an efficient and tight story. The production constraints must have been COVID related but I feel Soderberg used these limitations to the films credit.

The cast were strong and believable as a family unit. Many unseen facets of the characters lives were referenced and the film did a good job of presenting each personality organically. Although I actually found the daughter, who could be considered the films main character, to be the least deeply developed.

Although it's a ghost story of sorts, I would not call it a horror film. It seldom attempts to scare the audience in anything more than a very mild of unease. That said, there were several chilling moments.

Overall I enjoyed Presence and I appreciated its creativity and economical story telling. Although not a sensational film, it was a satisfying and tight story which I appreciated.

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.