20. PRESENCE (2024)

Released on January 24, 2025, and streaming on Hulu from NEON Films!
Directed by Steven Soderbergh.
Written by David Koepp.
Check out the trailer here!!

PRESENCE is told from the perspective of an unnamed spirit floating around the rooms of a house about to be bought by a family, made up of father Chris (played by THIS IS US’s Chris Sullivan), mother Rebekah (played by Lucy Liu), son Tyler (Eddy Maday), and daughter Chloe (Callina Liang). As the family moves into the home, it is apparent that there are some serious problems going on. Rebekah is involved in some kind of illegal scheme that her husband knows about, but is attempting to steer clear of. Tyler is trying to fit into a new school and has some serious anger issues that he unfortunately unleashes upon his sister Chloe. And Chloe recently lost her best friend who died of a drug overdose. We learn about all of this drama and more as the ghostly entity floats from one conversation to the next without being noticed by the family. But as danger nears Chloe, the entity, which seems to have formed a strong bond with the young girl, struggles to prevent tragedy from happening to this troubled family.

PRESENCE is an ambitious yet flawed little film that could only be made by a seasoned filmmaker like Steven Soderbergh. While I don’t always love what Soderbergh does, I do admire his attempt to tell different kinds of stories from brand new perspectives. Sure, we’ve seen films made from the perspective of the monster before, but Soderbergh commits to the bit and makes sure this forced perspective is used for the entire film without any cheats. And that’s impressive to me.

I’ve seen criticisms that say PRESENCE is not actually a horror movie. And I understand where these folks come from. This film is heavy on the family conflict. It fleshes out four characters that feel fully realized with good and bad parts. If anything, this is a movie that shows how we all can be very ugly people behind the closed doors of our homes. Most of the characters have some really bad traits that we see through the floating eyes of this entity. Rebekah favors Tyler and doesn’t seem very hesitant to make that clear to everyone, even Chloe. Chris knows Rebekah was out of his league, but she was looking for stability, so she chose him. Tyler is an angry young man, impatient with his sister’s grief process and rebellious from Chris’ orders to be nicer to her. And Chloe is making some very reckless decisions as she deals with the death of her friend. All of this could make for some pretty thick melodrama, and it does. But every time we get a scene of drama between members of this family, it is punctuated with a reminder that we are getting all of this from the perspective of a ghost.

One of the things that needs to be mentioned are the roles each family member takes. While this seems like the perfect nuclear family. It is problematic to the core with all kinds of dysfunction. Liu’s Rebekah is not a pretty role, but she gives her the same kind of authority she often exudes, yet seems like a cup filled to the brim about to spill at any moment. The kids characters are nice and depthy as well. But what impressed me the most was the performance of Chris Sullivan as Chirs, the father of the family. I am so used to seeing the bumbling, clueless father role in pretty much every TV and movie, but Sullivan plays against type and offers up the most complex role of the film. He is understanding to his daughter, patient with his wife, and stern but loving to his son. While he gets the brunt of the abuse from Rebekah and Tyler, he remains sturdy. Bless this film for going against the tired Hollywood trope of the Homer Simpson style father. More films and TV should take note of the nuanced and strong role Sullivan plays in PRESENCE.

Soderbergh’s camera swoops and twirls through this elegant house, transitioning from one conversation to another. But every movement of the camera seems to have purpose. We are getting just enough information for us to understand what is happening, though not everyone in the house is privy to all angles of this information. I won’t go into the details of the danger Chloe is in, but it is serious, and only the ghost seems to know the whole story, putting the ghost, like the viewer in the frustrating and often excruciating position of being forced to watch these bad things escalate.

Now, as I said, this isn’t a perfect film. The threat to Chloe is extremely cliché and I could see it coming from a mile away as well as a major revelation about one character’s motivations with her. I could even take this cliched situation if it were written well, but the dangerous character in question spouts some of the worst dialog I’ve heard from a villain this side of an old Popeye cartoon. It’s just plain bad, from the delivery to the words said that explains way too much for the cheap seats.

But and that’s a big ol’ but, this leads to one of the smartest and most emotionally devastating revelations in the final five minutes I’ve ever seen in a movie. The way this films wraps up is shocking, comes out of nowhere, yet is something I feel I should have picked up on from the get go, but didn’t. It gives me chills just thinking about it. It’s one of those revelations that will make you immediately want to restart the movie and watch it again, now knowing what you know. That’s all I will say, but for every fault this film has, and it has a few in terms of dialog and cliched motivation of the “villain,” the ending makes up for it big time.

Unique concept, strong performances, and an ending that made my jaw drop so far I could taste my toes. That’s what PRESENCE has going for it. While it does have scares occasionally, the film combines melodrama and horror in interesting and fresh ways. I avoided this film at first, but once I did end up seeing it not long ago, I appreciate it for the beautifully thrilling and frighteningly meaningful film PRESENCE truly is.

Worth Noting: HOUSE ON EDEN (2025)

Released on July 25, 2025, and available On Demand on Amazon Prime from Shudder and RLJE Films!
Directed/Written by Kris Collins.
Check out the trailer here!!

A trio of paranormal investigators/YouTube influencers (writer/director Kris Collins, Celina Myers, Jason-Christopher Mayer) travel to a little-known haunted location known as the House on Eden, where a young girl went missing decades ago. Upon arriving at the house, the investigators’ relationships begin to fray as strange happenings occur in the periphery.

Are the actors successfully acting like they aren’t acting?
The actors are playing themselves as TikTok influencers and I know this is hypocritical, me being somewhat of a YouTube influencer myself, but films about influencers annoy me. There is quite a bit of mugging for the camera by the trio, as they think much more about what will get them more hits than their own safety. But on top of all of that, there does seem to be more going on under the surface, as HOUSE ON EDEN really gives a behind the scenes look at the resentments, pressures, and issues that arise in a world that hinges on short clips online. Director/writer Kris Collins does a wonderful job of being the leader of the group, often neglecting the feelings of others. The house is affecting her and amplifying her brash, gung-ho attitude, but she conveys the increasing intensity of these feelings well. Her co-host Celina Myers serves as fine comic relief and definitely has an over-the-top attitude that might rub some people wrongly. But she provides much needed comic relief when things get tense. Camera operator Jason-Christopher Mayer gets less to play with, but does an excellent job being the eyes and ears of the film but really gets overshadowed by the other two leads. Long story short; these guys do a decent job of acting natural, as natural as TikTokkers can be, that is.

Does the footage found seem authentic and untouched by additional production?
HOUSE ON EDEN really impressed me at how authentic it all feels. While I do think that there is some kind of omniscient editing going on as the story switches between the cameras all three are using. This could have been rectified by a simple opening scrawl saying that the following footage was found and edited together by authorities in order to get a clear picture of what happened. HOUSE ON EDEN didn’t have that. Still, I commend this film for not using music to punctuate and prepare the audience for scares. It makes a world of difference when there isn’t the anticipatory synth chord, and the scares occur unexpectedly. HOUSE ON EDEN takes a page from THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and opens without and title cards or anything, only identifying it is a movie after the final reel runs out, making it a much more authentic watch than most found footage films made today.

Why don’t they just drop the camera and get the hell out of there?
Sometimes this group do drop the camera or forget one is running. But because this is a paranormal investigation there is an intent to film everything. Every trick in the paranormal investigation book is used; glowing balls that illuminate when tapped by the supernatural, radio scanning opening up lines of communication, and EVP recordings of prompts to communicate with the ghosts. While the popularity of those paranormal investigation shows may be passing, HOUSE ON EDEN recreates one well.

Is there an up-nose BLAIR WITCH confessional or a REC-drag away from the camera?
There are a couple of up-noses, but they are not confessionals. But only because the camera person is so scared, they forgot to turn on the camera and clutch onto it for dear life. Thankfully, HOUSE ON EDEN adopts the feel of BLAIR WITCH rather than copying tired iconic scenes from more popular films.

Does anything actually happen? Is the lead in too long and the payoff too short?
There is a nice gradual increase in strange things happening pretty early on in HOUSE ON EDEN. There is a wonderful little moment in the middle when everyone blacks out and wakes up the next day that really brings out the character in each of our players, while deepening the threat. Yes, there’s a rush to the end. But this is definitely not a boring film by a long shot.

Does the film add anything to the subgenre and is it worth watching?
HOUSE ON EDEN doesn’t necessarily add to the genre apart from being a really good found footage film. It is genuinely scary. It all feels real. And the threat, which I am keeping vague on purpose, is a lot of fun. Yes, I’ve seen this type of ending before. But I appreciate the fact that filmmaker Kris Collins has made a terrifying, claustrophobic, and white-knuckle old school scary movie about kids with cameras in the woods and inside of a haunted house. Sometimes, it’s the simple things that work. And HOUSE ON EDEN works all of that well.

The Best in Horror Countdown 2024-2025
#31 – GET AWAY (DARK MATCH)
#30 – PABRIK GULA (#MISSINGCOUPLE)
#29 – YULE LOG 2: BRANCHIN’ OUT (THE LAST VIDEO STORE)
#28 – FREWAKA (THE SURRENDER)
#27 – FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES (V/H/S/BEYOND)
#26 – ALMA AND THE WOLF (CUSTOM)
#25 – LOOKY-LOO (THE CREEP TAPES)
#24 – DANGEROUS ANIMALS (THE MAN IN THE WHITE VAN)
#23 – THE MONKEY (THE DAMNED)
#22 – THE DEVIL AND THE DAYLONG BROTHERS (THE SEVERED SUN)
#21 – TERRIFIER 3 (CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD)
#20 – PRESENCE (HOUSE ON EDEN)