Presence (2024) review – Soderbergh’s voyeuristic ghost story

Welcome to Knockout Horror. We are taking a look at a Steven Soderbergh paranormal horror movie today in the form of Presence (2024).

A hugely prolific Hollywood director

This movie has been getting a bit of hype, as of late. Soderbergh is, obviously, a highly prolific director who has been receiving critical acclaim for years. I don’t think he has dipped his toes into the world of horror a great deal, however.

It comes as something of a surprise that his most recent effort should be such a low-key one, as The Presence is a tightly contained film that takes place entirely within the confines of a home. Following the story of a family who move into a new home, only to feel the presence of something else living there with them, this movie is something of a more upmarket version of Paranormal Activity. But does it deserve the praise?

Starting with the positives, I think The Presence is a fairly effective ghost story. Written by David Koepp, it’s extremely formulaic and does absolutely nothing new. But there is enough here to keep the movie engaging, and it’s short enough to not wear out its welcome, entirely.

It’s typical stuff. A family move into a new house. The house appears to be haunted. The family are initially sceptical before seeing undisputable proof. They then attempt to come to terms with the haunting, etc., etc.

The Presence tries to keep things fresh by throwing in a fair bit of a familial, domestic drama and the slight hint of a crime mystery. A lot of that plays second fiddle to the haunting, though.

It can be quite satisfying

The paranormal stuff is pretty enjoyable. There aren’t any surprises, but it is well-executed enough to scratch that very particular ghostly itch. Similar to the aforementioned Paranormal Activity, the events in the movie escalate gradually, giving you plenty of meat to chew on when it comes to the issues at hand.

The clever balance of domestic drama and spirit shenanigans is well supported by a fairly intriguing mystery that eventually ties up into the story later on in the movie.

“The entire movie is filmed as if viewed from the perspective of the spirit, placing the viewer as a voyeur… acting as a nice twist on the typical haunted house formula.”

The Presence would be a very run-of-the-mill ghost story if it wasn’t for its rather unique presentation style. The entire movie is filmed as if viewed from the perspective of the spirit, placing the viewer as a voyeur to the events taking place. It’s quite an interesting way of doing things and offers a different approach to something that is very overly familiar, acting as a nice twist on the typical haunted house formula of old.

Naturally, this approach has its drawbacks. The camera is, seemingly, handheld and quite shaky and spasmodic. My fiancée was not a fan of this, at all. Despite this, it’s an incredibly impressive achievement.

These are long, drawn-out, single takes with no break-up and no adjustments. Camera reflections are never seen in mirrors, the character tracking is impressive, and the technical aspects of the movie are absolutely fantastic. It’s really tough not to be impressed by everyone involved.

There are a few downsides

There are a decent number of negatives to The Presence. The most noteworthy of which may be the fact that this movie isn’t at all scary. The paranormal goings-on are far more akin to Casper the Friendly Ghost than they are to Poltergeist, or the like. This is not a film that is trying to scare the viewer; it is trying to tell a story.

“The paranormal goings-on are far more akin to Casper the Friendly Ghost than they are to Poltergeist. This is not a film that is trying to scare the viewer.”

With that being said, the story isn’t all that interesting, and it is heavily padded as well as being quite predictable. There are a number of side stories that don’t go anywhere at all and are completely inconsequential, leaving it feeling as though half the movie was left on the cutting room floor.

The story is devoid of genuinely likable characters. Everyone is presented as massively flawed and rather obnoxious. There is a distinct sense that this is a tale that could have been told in 30 minutes rather than well over an hour. Scenes of characters arguing become repetitive and overbearing really quickly. If I was this spirit, there is no way I would spend time around these characters. They are horrendous.

Likewise, acting can be an issue, at times. Lucy Liu and Chris Sullivan are great as the parents, but everyone under 50 kind of sucks. Eddy Maday is okay, as the family’s son Tyler. Callina Liang, on the other hand, is extremely weak. Her delivery and general overacting took me out of every scene.

West Mulholland is even worse. His enunciation is terrible. He puts on a strange vocal pitch throughout that makes him difficult to understand, and he is extremely wooden in almost every scene—seemingly ill-fitting to play the “cool kid”.

Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight

Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.