Presence

Steven Soderbergh's supernatural story is a technical marvel.

Film Yap is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

---

As a longtime fan of multi-hyphenate filmmaker Steven Soderbergh I was excited to see him tackle the horror genre with “Presence” (now in theaters). Knowing that Soderbergh himself (working under the pseudonym Peter Andrews) was the camera operator and cinematographer of the picture and that he was shooting from the perspective of an apparition enlivened me further.

The resulting product had less genre trappings than I expected – much like last week’s “Wolf Man” (my review here) it’s a domestic drama dressed up in horror haute (or haunt?) couture duds … the two would actually make for an interesting double bill – but it’s never less than captivating.

Teenager Chloe (Callina Liang) and her family comprised of Dad Chris (Chris Sullivan), Mom Rebekah (Lucy Liu) and brother Tyler (Eddy Maday) move into a new home in a new school district after the presumed drug overdose death of Chloe’s best friend Nadia. The house was sold to them by realtor Cece (Julia Fox).

Things quickly begin going bump in the night (and the day for that matter) once the family gets settled. Chloe suggests to the rest of her kin that our titular presence is Nadia. Rebekah is too busy drinking and doting on Tyler to acknowledge what Chloe’s saying. Tyler writes Nadia off as an addict and asserts that Chloe’s crazy. The only one who seems to listen and care about Chloe is Chris. Additionally, there’s marital strife between Rebekah and Chris since she’s committed financial fraud at work and is inattentive to their daughter’s wants and needs.

Also getting roped into the situation are Ryan (West Mulholland), Tyler’s school chum with sexual inclinations towards Chloe, and Lisa (Natalie Woolams-Torres), a medium recommended to the family by Cece.

“Presence” won’t be a film for all audiences, but it really resonated with me. As directed by Soderbergh and scripted by David Koepp (the men collaborate again with March’s “Black Bag” – both movies amusingly share a title card font) it’s a slow burn that recalls offerings in each artist’s back catalogue. I was very much reminded of Soderbergh’s more experimental stripped-down stuff, i.e. “Bubble,” “The Girlfriend Experience,” “Contagion,” “Side Effects” and “Unsane,” and also of Koepp’s Kevin Bacon vehicle “Stir of Echoes.” (Koepp has repeatedly dipped his toes into the supernatural with “Secret Window,” “Ghost Town” and “You Should Have Left” … talk about a recurring motif.)

In a few instances Koepp’s dialogue doesn’t sing – I don’t believe for a second that a mother (drunk or not) would willfully admit their crimes to their kid nor that a child would openly discuss a disgusting prank with their parent without fear of punishment. The actors do a commendable job of selling this stuff and most of it is convincing. My standout is Sullivan, who imbues Chris with such soul and decency. I wasn’t familiar with Liang, but I cared about Chloe and was concerned for her well-being. Liu’s Rebekah isn’t likable, but the reliable actress admirably plays her. Mulholland is memorable and will likely book many projects on the basis of his work here.

The real reason to watch “Presence” is the cinematography and editing (under the pseudonym Mary Ann Bernard) of Soderbergh. His roaming camera is truly a character unto itself and the numerous long takes are sensational. I hope his efforts are remembered come next year’s Oscars as they’re undeniably worthy, but they likely won’t be given the film’s January release date. Here’s hoping they don’t give up the ghost.