I remember seeing a poster for Steven Soderbergh’s (Erin Brockovich, Ocean’s Eleven, Magic Mike) Presence at my local theater and it said something along the lines of “turning the haunted house formula on its head”. I love a good haunted house movie so I was pumped to check this out, but I had heard very mixed things, some loved it, some hated it, and some said it was boring. I will admit, that the poster caught my attention, but the trailer did make me think this had the potential to be more of a pretentious kind of horror movie.
How to Download Presence
Presence was released on January 24, 2025. You can expect to be able to download or stream the film from Hulu or another digital platform several months after its theatrical release. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and check the current availability.
The Movie Review
The movie has a great cast with Lucy Lui and Chris Sullivan playing the parental roles of Rebekah and Chris Payne. Chris and Rebekah have a strained marriage as Rebekah has done something less than legal at work and Chris is thinking of leaving her. They both give very believable performances here and I am a fan of both actors, Chris Sullivan is awesome as Toby in This is Us!
They have two teenage kids in Chloe and Tyler, played by Callina Lange and Eddy Maday. Chloe is grieving the loss of her friend who died of a drug overdose, but Tyler is a bit of a jerk, he is arrogant and his mother blatantly favors him. The family has gone through some stuff and they have moved into a new house.
A Unique Perspective on the Haunted House Genre
This new house though is not exactly the fresh start they thought it was as the house is home to a “presence”. The presence has a particular interest in Chloe and Chloe is convinced that it is her friend as it has a familiar feeling about it. If you come into this expecting a typical haunted house kind of movie with thrills and scares, you will be very, very disappointed.
What we basically have here is a family drama. The twist is that we see the events of the story unfold from the Prescence’s point of view and this was something I thought was very cool. From it following the family around, listening to what they are saying, to hiding in Chloe’s closet, and even acting out and interacting with things. I loved the way that the movie was shot, it truly was a clever idea and Steven Soderbergh pulled it off perfectly.
Is Presence Worth Watching?
However, despite me liking the way the movie was shot and thinking seeing the events from the ghosts…. Sorry, the presence’s point of view was cool. This was kind of a boring movie if I am being honest, I certainly did not hate it, but I felt like I was always waiting for something to happen and when the big reveal/twist did happen, I don’t know why, it didn’t blow me away or anything like that. I certainly did not see it coming, but I still was not mind-blown by it.
Presence is one of those movies that you really have to see for yourself to make a decision on. Some love it and think that it is very, very clever, others say that it is boring as hell. I am somewhere in the middle, but I do not think this is a movie I would ever watch again, as I know the twist and it did not impact me all that much the first time. Hey, check out the trailer and if you think it looks interesting, you may be one of the people who this really clicks with.
