Presence (15)

A haunted house tale from the perspective of the spirit is a taut, atmospheric and visually arresting tale.

This ghost story, shot in total secrecy in 2023 by Steven Soderbergh, is set entirely inside a lovely, renovated, 100-year-old suburban home, and before the characters even have a chance to move in, the place is already occupied.

Matriarch Rebecca (Lucy Liu) and her nuclear family have moved in, and the spirit watches on as a seemingly idyllic unit begins to show its cracks. Captured in hypnotic long takes and wide angles, Rebecca fawns over her star-athlete son Tyler (Eddy Maday) while her daughter Chloe (Callina Liang) languishes in isolation. In the next room, her husband (Chris Sullivan) wonders if it’s even worth staying.

Much like Unsane, and Kimi; this is another opportunity for the director to work with tiny budgets, yet bold ideas. The camera here effortlessly glides around the house in long takes. Presence feels more like an experimental drama, or even art installation, than full-bore horror (the weak dispositioned will be safe here). Just prepare yourself for a sudden, and very dark gut-punch third act.