Director Steven Soderbergh adds his new film Presence to the list of ghost stories where you actually root for the ghost. Once again experimenting with form, Soderbergh tells a short, flawed story in a cinematically fascinating way.
The Paynes move into their new home hoping to each escape some of their own personal demons. Instead, they discover an unseen entity is inhabiting the space, seemingly holing up in a closet in the daughter Chloe’s (Callina Lang) bedroom. The technical twist is that the entire film plays out from the perspective of the so-called “presence.” This trick could have easily felt gimmicky. This decision, however, allows the audience to not only see this whole story from the ghost’s point of view (a ghost who quickly takes on its own personality and becomes, in a way, the protagonist), but it also gives us a more intimate look into this family, something that gets left on the cutting room floor in most modern-day supernatural spooks. The family dynamics at play are crucial to the overall story, and this technique — aside from giving Soderbergh the chance to show off — gives a closer look into those dynamics.
The script and some of the performances could have used some refining, but Presence gives us a new and interesting way to experience — on both a technical and emotional level — our ghost stories.
Rating: 3.5/5