Presence (2025) | Hollywood Movie

Presence (2025), directed by Steven Soderbergh, is a hauntingly inventive thriller that flips the ghost story on its head, unfolding entirely from the POV of an unseen entity (Soderbergh’s camera) in a suburban house. Lucy Liu anchors the Payne family as Rebekah, a mother unraveling under financial fraud, while Chris Sullivan’s gentle Chris and Callina Liang’s grieving Chloe flesh out a fractured dynamic, with Eddy Maday’s arrogant Tyler as the wildcard.

The gimmick—every frame a long take from the spirit’s view—pays off with eerie immersion, tracking family dysfunction and Chloe’s brush with danger from a predatory Ryan (West Mulholland). David Koepp’s script builds to a gut-punch twist revealing Tyler as the protective presence, a redemption arc that lands with devastating weight. At 85 minutes, it’s tight yet polarizing—less horror than existential drama, with subtle chills over jump-scares.

Critics laud its 88% Rotten Tomatoes score for Soderbergh’s formal daring, but some find the narrative predictable or the gimmick overstretched. It’s a slow-burn triumph of craft and emotion, not frights, best for those who savor ambiguity and heartbreak over conventional scares.