I Ain’t Afraid of No Ghost in This ‘Presence’ Teaser Trailer
Steven Soderbergh, a pioneer of independent cinema going all the way back to his 1989 debut Sex, Lies, and Videotape, a Palme d’Or winner and impetus for the independent filmmaking revolution of the 1990s, has also, wonderfully enough, been a pioneer for genre filmmaking. Soderbergh’s inimitable, technical style has elevated genre-adjacent fare like Unsane, filmed on an iPhone 7 Plus, and Side Effects, one of the century’s best paranoid thrillers. Soderbergh recently returned to the genre with Presence, scripted by David Koepp, and I have no doubt it will be one of next year’s buzziest genre releases. Check out a teaser trailer below:
Per Neon: A family moves into a suburban house and becomes convinced they’re not alone.
The distinguishing factor in Soderbergh’s Presence is its technical approach. The entirety of the movie is filmed from the perspective of the titular presence. It’s a haunted house movie shot from the vantage point of the spirit haunting the house, like David Lowery’s A Ghost Story with a first-person point-of-view.
I was fortunate enough to catch Soderbergh’s Presence at this year’s Sundance Film Festival with Soderbergh in attendance. In my four-star review, I wrote:
“And it’s that simplicity that will make or break Presence. In the quiet, muted spaces, Presence is a chilling foray into modern-day hauntings. Those unable to acclimate to the clearly delineated boundaries might find themselves too detached for the full efficacy to land. Either way, Presence is a remarkable accomplishment, one liable to leave audiences with the sinking feeling they’re tethered to a presence all their own as the credits roll.”
Truly, Presence is sensational. I hate saying it, because really, what does it even mean, but Presence is filmmaking. It’s a movie, capital ‘M.’ Soderbergh remains unmatched, and in a year bookended by successful Neon horror releases (see: Immaculate and Longlegs), there’s no doubt Presence will start 2025 off right. Look for it in limited theaters on January 17, 2025.
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