Presence

I usually don't like saying this but Presence just ended up feeling like a prolonged gimmick of a movie. Because despite the fact that I do think the main idea is quite interesting I don't really think it ended up sustaining a whole feature. If it was a 20-30 minute short I think this premise could've worked wonders and felt like a very unique take on a ghost story. But as is, despite some really impressive camera work, it just ends up feeling like there's a lot of bloat which comes in the form of character drama only some of which I thought actually worked. The transitions between scenes are very abrupt and after a while I felt like I was watching the same 2 or 3 scenes over and over again. The dialogue and the acting can feel quite stilted and a lot of the drama going on between this family doesn't really amount to much with a last minute twist that felt like it belonged in a different movie. For only an 85 minute movie it drags which again goes back to my point that this idea feels better suited to a short. There's a few interesting ideas and more than a few points where I really felt like I was getting what Soderbergh was going for but this really just ended up feeling like a bit of a missed opportunity. I really like the idea and always compliment a film that has a premise I wish I'd have come up with myself. I just wish the actually execution was on the same level.

Steven Soderbergh is one of those directors who is always interesting to watch, especially considering he regularly straddles the line between independent and mainstream cinema, with mixed results, but always with an interesting take. This time, he delves into ghost stories with a wonderfully subjective direction that fits perfectly with the director's most interesting work.

A story about ghosts.

While this isn't the first time we've been put in the perspective of a ghost as a protagonist in cinema, screenwriter David Koepp teams up with Steven Soderbergh to give us an interesting film that leaves us with the satisfaction of a job well done. It may not be completely well-rounded and won't be for all audiences, but it's a film worth giving a chance because it has enough to please us. Facing a subjective character, and even more so the fact that this character is a ghostly presence, makes it interesting to follow. Add to that the fact that the director knows how to perfectly fit the camera as the protagonist of the film. The gaze with which he transports us is also the gaze we have as viewers when we invade this conflictive family, with which we never fully understand its details, but we do feel part of it.

Steven Soderbergh deconstructs the horror genre.

One thing we can be clear about when we talk about this film is that it's just a movie Soderbergh could have made. The director's career has always been considered one of someone who doesn't limit himself to things and always seeks to deliver his own score for what he's filming, and here he does it again with a horror genre that the director transforms into a drama, but one that's frightening, that gives you goosebumps, and that makes you uncomfortable like a faithful horror story, but without any jump scares. The director isn't looking for that, but rather to confront us with the terror of death, the terror of what we don't see, the terror of what we don't control, and he does this in a meticulous and studied way, with a thoughtful direction that only he could have achieved. It's a family drama that is terrifying and frightening because we simply have a family that isn't an example; it's a family that intrigues and frightens with its presence.

A satisfying, yet daring twist.

While the film lacks much of a plot and at times seems repetitive in its actions, it's the path to its personally unexpected twist, albeit with small hints that hinted at it, that's the great achievement we're left with after watching the film. While it's a twist that will have its pros and cons, it's quite daring and accomplishes its goal of instilling emotions in the viewer, and with that, the job is done. We may or may not agree with the decisions, but it's a twist that won't leave you indifferent and complements an interesting film that ranks among the highlights of the year so far.

Conclusion.

A delightful film with moments inspired by its director, positioning it as the director's most notable work of recent times. An interesting development, a pair of well-crafted characters and their performances, and a family drama that turns into horror as we begin to understand everything that's happening in that house, with a ghostly look in our eyes that invites you to stay and enjoy the film.

While I appreciate Soderburgh trying something new, there were way too many missed opportunities to make this movie feel anything other than gimmicky. Don't get me wrong, it was a good attempt at a ghost story but the tone of the movie got tripped up on adding too many distracting elements. It seemed more experimental than anything else; the characters felt forced (especially the parents), the foreshadowing was over the top, and the last ten minutes undid any possible horror that I originally hoped I would find. Definitely walked away feeling disappointed but only because the events leading up to it left too many open ended questions. (One of the biggest being why they would leave their children in an obviously haunted house (this is not a spoiler, it's literally the title of the movie) and then say "make good decisions." Dumb.)

I'd seen the trailers and was excited to see the film on its release . So last week we saw a secret screening/preview of it at our local cinema . Filmed from the side of the ghost/spirit and based on an empty lovely house a family of four move into. The house itself is lovely and the filming is brilliant but I have to be honest myself and mr husband were really disappointed. Lots of filming that were irrelevant. Some scenes were good and some secretive . But In my honest opinion after watching the trailer I was so disappointed with the film. The end five minutes are good and sad . But overall not as good as we hoped.

I completely understand the type of film this is and that its goal is to make you feel uneasy throughout. But honestly, even that wasn't executed well.

As a family drama? I didn't connect at all-not with the story, not with the dialogue between the characters.

As a thriller? It completely fails at that too.

So, the film doesn't succeed on any level. Even its one standout feature-the unique cinematography, where we experience everything from the perspective of the spirit in the house-sure, it's technically well done, but what does that even matter?

When the story is weak and the suspense-the one thing the movie promises-is completely absent, the whole experience falls flat. Yeah, I can admit there were some highlights, like the final scene technically speaking, but again, what's the point if the film has no real tension or excitement?