Filmmakers often use their own experiences as part of the “creative process” and that applies to Presence, as unusual as it sounds.  Academy Award winning director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic) had a home in Los Angeles where a few mysterious things took place.  This included a house sitter seeing someone walk from the bathroom to the bedroom despite being alone.  After a quick internet search, Soderbergh learned a woman had died in the master bedroom several years earlier under suspicious circumstances.

Movies about ghosts and the supernatural aren’t new but, working with screenwriter David Koepp (Jurassic Park), Soderbergh finds a fresh angle with Presence.  For starters, this tale is told entirely from the perspective of the ghost!  A family of four have moved into a two-story residence and the spirit follows them from room-to-room.  It’s voyeuristic with its approach – it’s never seen but it watches the daily conversations and interactions between mum, dad, son and daughter.  We never leave the house.

Soderbergh creates further points of difference with his direction.  He himself held the lightweight Sony camera as it smoothly hovered above/around the characters.  Each individual scene was shot with no edits and so just a single camera was required.  It helps explain why the film could be made on a budget of just $2 million USD.  It brings back memories of what Soderbergh did with Unsane, a 2018 release shot entirely on an iPhone 7 with an even smaller budget.

A narrative is required and it’s similarly interesting.  While the family members squabble over differing views on the world, the daughter (Liang) senses a “presence” in the home.  She can’t see it but a growing number of unexplained events, like a door being opened, have her asking questions.  The rest of the household soon buys into her views (they see stuff too) and a spiritual medium is brought in for advice.

With a running time of just 85 minutes, Presence is stylish and intriguing.  It’s also the kind of movie you can watch and appreciate a second time, with a completely different mindset, knowing how it will end.  The cast is headlined by Lucy Liu (Charlie’s Angels) and Chris Sullivan (This is Us).  They’re great but it’s the two youngers, Callina Liang and Eddy Maday, who get the “meatier” part of the screenplay and impress most.

If keen on a quality supernatural thriller, add Presence to your viewing list.