Presence is a 2024 American supernatural thriller drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by David Koepp. It stars Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan, and Callina Liang. Presence premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2024. It was released in U.S. theaters by Neon on January 24, 2025. The film has grossed $9.1 million on a $2 million production budget, and received positive reviews from critics.

Plot

The Paynes, a family of four—mother Rebecca, father Chris, elder brother Tyler, and younger sister Chloe—move into a large suburban house inhabited by a poltergeist (referred to in-universe as the "Presence"). The entire film is presented from the Presence's point of view in a series of long takes. The Presence witnesses the growing cracks within the family. The parents' marriage is strained: Rebecca has been committing financial fraud at her work; Chris is considering leaving her. Rebecca obsesses over Tyler, an arrogant champion swimmer, while paying little attention to Chloe. Meanwhile, Chris is concerned for Chloe, who is grieving the death of her best friend Nadia, one of two girls in the community who recently died in their sleep. Tyler dismisses the dead girls as drug addicts. Chloe senses the Presence, which often hides in her closet, and believes it's the spirit of Nadia. Chloe meets Tyler's friend, Ryan. They get high and discuss loss and grief, until Chloe breaks down, sobbing as Ryan consoles her. He tells her that she will decide when and where they have sex, and discusses his psychological issues and obsession with control. The Presence makes a shelf in Chloe's closet collapse in order to stop them from becoming intimate. Another day, after Chloe and Ryan have sex, Ryan spikes Chloe's drink with a suspicious white powder, but the Presence knocks it over before Chloe can drink it. Meanwhile, Tyler and his friends prank a female classmate, soliciting an intimate photo of her and then circulating it on social media. Rebecca is indulgent, but Chris and Chloe are appalled. The Presence furiously trashes Tyler's room, revealing its existence to the rest of the family. Chris contacts the realtor, who insists no one died in the home, as she'd legally have to disclose that, but recommends that her sister-in-law, a medium, come visit. The medium senses the Presence and notes the vintage mirror built into the fireplace mantle that helps see into the spiritual plane. She realizes that Chloe can also sense it, due to trauma opening the metaphysical "door." She adds that the Presence is in the house for a reason, and suggests that the Presence could be trapped in an anachronistic time period, confusing past with present. Tyler and Rebecca dismiss the story as nonsense. Chloe and Chris have a conversation in which he reveals that he believes Chloe's claims, admitting that he has become more religious with time as his age has brought him experience. The medium later returns and warns Chris that she believes the Presence is here to prevent a future event, something to do with "the window that doesn't open." At Ryan's insistence, he and Chloe plan to spend the night together while her parents are away on a business trip, though Chloe warns Tyler will still be present. Once the parents leave, Ryan arrives and drugs Tyler with Ambien, leaving him asleep in the living room, while he brings another spiked drink to Chloe. Chloe admits to Ryan that she's no longer comfortable with the situation, but he manipulates her into comforting him over drinks. She consumes the spiked drink, leaving her incapacitated. Ryan gloats that he killed Nadia and another girl, and made it look like an overdose. He uses ultra-thin plastic wrap to repeatedly cut off her air supply. The Presence frantically wakes up Tyler, who runs upstairs and tackles Ryan, throwing them both through the window. The Presence looks out the window to the driveway below, as it had many times before, at the now-dead Tyler and Ryan. The family moves out of the house. Before leaving, Rebecca senses the Presence and follows it to the mirror. Tyler's reflection is seen in the mirror, revealing that he has been the Presence throughout the duration of the film, and Rebecca breaks down in grief, understanding he was protecting his sister all along. Having fulfilled its purpose, the Presence/Tyler floats out and above the house.

Cast

Lucy Liu as Rebecca Payne Chris Sullivan as Chris Payne Callina Liang as Chloe Payne Eddy Maday as Tyler Payne West Mulholland as Ryan Julia Fox as Cece, the realtor Natalie Woolams-Torres as Lisa, the medium Lucas Papaelias as Carl, Lisa's husband

Production

The film, written by David Koepp and directed by Steven Soderbergh, was not announced publicly until December 2023 when it was revealed to be part of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Principal photography took place over 11 days in September 2023 with an interim SAG-AFTRA agreement from the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. The film is shot entirely in the first-person perspective, and was filmed in a house in Cranford, New Jersey.

Release

The film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2024. Shortly after, Neon acquired distribution rights to the film for $5 million. The film premiered in New York City on January 16, 2025. It was released in theaters in the United States on January 24, 2025.

Reception

= Box office

= In the United States and Canada, Presence was released alongside Flight Risk and Brave the Dark and was projected to gross $2–3 million from 1,750 theaters in its opening weekend. It made $1.4 million on its first day, including an estimated $385,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $3.3 million, finishing in sixth.

= Critical response

= On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of 204 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "A slow-burning spectral thriller, Presence reaffirms that Soderbergh plays with form as deftly as he flits between genres." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 77 out of 100, based on 52 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it a 58% overall positive score, with 33% saying they would "definitely recommend" it.

References

External links

Presence at IMDb