Presence (2024)

 Presence isn't the sort of film I would have gone to the cinema but my local cinema did a ‘Mystery Screening’. It stated nothing but it was a horror film, coming out soon and the curious clue ‘Can you see our POINT OF VIEW?’ and that was actually a good clue as the film is a mix of 1917, Paranormal Activity and Poltergeist. The plot is that a family moves into a house which seemingly has a ghost. We see moments of their lives as they start to settle in and we discover that the ghost is a friend of one of the kids and things go from there. 

GOOD POINT 01 - ISOLATED SETTING

The entire film takes place inside a house. Ok it's quite a big house but the isolated setting is something that I liked. This will always be a good point in movies because it means we are not jumping to other areas of the country or even world and the plot and our attention is focused on one place. I would love to see behind the scenes footage of how they pulled this off because it was rather well done and I liked how the film showed restraint by not cutting away to somewhere else. The closest the film gets is the final shot when the camera pulls outside of the house and flies into the sky.

GOOD POINT 02 - POINT OF VIEW SHOT IS INTERESTING IDEAL

Using a POV isn't new but when it's used it has to be done well and the film does use this well. The way that we feel like we are listening to private conversations and then pull away almost like something more interesting is happening is something that shows a different energy to this type of horror film. When the camera is hiding in the closest it does a good job of showing how the ghost is feeling and when it tries to get someone's attention we are made to feel like its urgent and internally you want to shout to try and wake them up. 

GOOD POINT 03 - RYAN IS A FLIMSY VILLAIN BUT EFFECTIVE

The film has to have a villain and in this film is Ryan who is introduced as a jock friend of Tyler’s who falls for Chloe and as they become an item comes across as supportive and patient but there is always something about him that comes across as a villain and it happens when he tries to drug Chloe but is thwarted by the ghost before he tries again and drugs not only Chloe but Tyler and again is thwarted by the ghost who manages to wake Tyler up. There isn't much to the character apart from him clearly being a scumbag but at least the film attempts to give him reason for us to care about him getting his comeuppance.  I do think they missed a trick by killing him off and would have liked him to have had his day in court but that's more of a nitpick and not worthy of being a bad point. 

BAD POINT 01 - ACTING IS NOT GREAT

Despite Lucy Liu’s best efforts, the acting isn't the best throughout the film. The character of Tyler played by Eddy Maday wasn't particularly strong and in one of his first scenes where he gets to deliver some dialogue he is dropping the f-bomb in every sentence. I know that isn't Maday’s fault and I am sure that he will do better in future films but here and now it's not a great performance. The dad (Chris) is next to useless as he admits that he lets the Lucy Liu character pretty much do whatever she wants and the only time he does anything is when he brings the woman who can feel the soul. The acting could have been better but then probably would have taken our attention from what's going on but at least Lucy Liu is working. 

OVERALL

This was a complete mystery screening which was very populated for a Monday evening in mid-January which was a good sign. I wasn't disappointed with the choice although I don't think I would have gone to see it had I had the choice but I thought it was pretty decent. It’s not on par with some of Soderbergh’s best work but I thought for a 90 minute film it did what it was supposed to and got out of there (literally). Not worth going to the cinema for but definitely worth seeing it when it appears on streaming.