Supernatural Happenings Threaten To Tear A Family Apart In ‘Presence’ – Review

The purchase of a new suburban home is more than a family bargains for in the Steven Soderbergh-directed Presence.

A family of four purchases a beautiful home with unique and antique charm at the behest of the family’s matriarch, Rebecca (Lucy Liu). Although her husband, Chris (Chris Sullivan), is mildly apprehensive at first, the Payne family purchases the home to start a new beginning, including a new school district for their teenage son, Tyler (Eddy Maday), where he will be a swim star at the local high school, and his sister, Chloe (Callina Liang) who is dealing with the recent devastating loss of her friend.

However, the Paynes don’t realize that a strange entity is living in their new home. The first to encounter the being is Chloe. It begins with various items moving around in her bedroom, then develops into Chloe being able to sense the being itself. Although the spirit seemingly does not want to cause the family harm initially, it does react to certain happenings or instances throughout the house with aggressive and violent energy that frightens the Payne family into seeking the service of a woman named Lisa (Natalie Woolams-Torres), who can sense spirits. While this does give the family some answers, it ultimately leads to mayhem and more as the movie progresses.

Shot from the unique perspective of the entity in the home, Presence offers a fresh take on the supernatural thriller genre. At times, you feel like a fly on the wall, observing the family as they navigate their various struggles. At other times, you’re fully immersed in the entity’s actions and the chaos it causes. The film’s unique perspective, paired with the eerie sounds that punctuate various scenes, creates a sense of unease and foreboding from the moment the film begins. With many fantastic stylistic choices, Soderbergh’s direction is at its best in Presence, keeping the audience captivated throughout.

In addition to the bold directing, Presence has an intriguing script by David Koepp. Koepp’s script beautifully balances the Payne family’s individual issues and the ones with each other while dealing with the unwelcome being in the house. Presence is not just a supernatural horror-thriller but a look into family dynamics and the moments that shape the relationships within the family unit for better or worse. It shines a light on being there for your family and the toll that might be paid if you wait to long to do so. The film also delves into adding new people to your life and how those we believe are safe may be far from it.

Lucy Liu and Chris Sullivan are phenomenal in their roles of Rebecca and Chris, respectively. While it is evident that they were once in love with one another, Presence paints the tapestry of spouses drifting apart. At the same time, they try to deal with their unhappiness with each other and their teenage children, who are in very different head spaces in their journey to young adulthood. The warring siblings are played to perfection by Callina Liang and Eddy Maday. As the popular jock-type, Maday is mostly unlikeable, treating his sister like she is inconveniencing his life. Liang takes on the task of playing a girl who has been retreating into herself as a coping mechanism for the recent loss she experienced. Together, the quartet work exceptionally well, and their presence (pun intended) as a family makes every moment in the house all the more distressing.

Presence is not your conventional supernatural thriller, and it is all the better for it. It features exceptional performances, family drama that keeps the story grounded, Soderbergh at his finest, and twists and turns that will have you on the edge of your seat. From unexpected character developments to shocking revelations about the entity, the movie keeps you guessing and leaves you with a sense of unease long after the credits roll.