"PRESENCE" (2025) Takes The Haunted House Genre In A Bold New Direction! (REVIEW)

Every horror cinephile has the go-to subgenre that speaks to them on a personal level. It can be Slashers, it can be Creature Features, maybe even Giallo, but damn near every one of them will tick off a Haunted House movie they hold near and dear. Maybe it’s because we’ve all grown up with the stories. Every town, it doesn’t matter where has a Haunted House. Typically, they are in the woods or on the outskirts of town, but they can also be that apartment that never seems to hold onto tenets very long or a spot in the park that’s always cold, even in August. Hauntings are very much a part of the fabric of a place. They can be charming; stick your head into any pub off Grafton Street in Dublin; they can be sinister; Amityville on Long Island can attest to that, or they can be tragic; the Lemp Mansion haunting in Missouri comes to mind. The locals can take immense pride in their hauntings or curse the day it starts. Hauntings and Haunted Houses resonate so deeply with us because they’re personal. A haunting happens “to” you. It’s intimate on a level other horror sub-genres are not. It’s that intimacy that peels back the barrier we, as an audience, might typically put up to protect ourselves. It gets through because we can’t help but ask ourselves, “What if that was my house?” What if that was me?”

Every decade has its defining Haunted House movie. This, of course, is subjective, but there are certain films that the vast majority of filmgoers agree on: 1944’s “The Uninvited,” 1963’s “The Haunting,” 1973’s “The Legend of Hell House,” 1982's “Poltergeist,” 1992’s “Ghostwatch” and 2008’s “Lake Mungo.” We’re making a case that NEON and Steven Soderbergh’s “Presence” will eventually be seen as the definitive Haunted House film of the 2020s. 

It is told entirely from the perspective of an entity haunting the Payne family: hard-charging corporate Uber-Mom, Rebecca (Lucy Liu), sympathetic but overwhelmed Father, Chris (Chris Sullivan), isolated, fragile daughter, Chloe (Callina Liang), and dude-bro, golden boy brother, Tyler (Eddy Maday). They’re a very real 2025 family, and the strength of this phenomenally well-made film is the scenes between the scares. Each member of this modern family is haunted in their own way, and Soderberg, working off a well-crafted script from David Koepp (“Jurrasic Park,” “Stir of Echoes”), lets the family dynamic unfold naturally. What we get is a picture that slowly comes to light of a family in chaos. Rebecca may or may not be into some serious corporate shenanigans, Chris is aware of this and looking for an exit strategy, Chloe is reeling from the death of a close friend, and Tyler is showing disturbing signs of toxic bullying. For a film with an unconventional narrative, the characters are fully realized and feel real, especially their reactions when things go from bad to worse. The performances are remarkable across the board, especially Callina Liang as Chloe, who does most of the emotional heavy lifting here.

The movie consists of multiple vignettes, random moments the ghost observes over time, that work to craft the film's narrative. Because of this technique, there’s a disjointed feel that works to its favor rather than distraction. This is more an experience that the audience goes through, piecing together clues here and there, mapping out the mythology of the haunting as it unfolds before them. Undoubtedly, this will frustrate some viewers. Those expecting spectral pyrotechnics will be disappointed. This is not that film, yet it’s thrilling on a level we haven’t experienced for some time in this sub-genre. It’s a slow burn, but never is it tedious. You can sense the playfulness of Soderbergh, working the camera in “Presence” and therefore the “ghost,” has teased the audience with subtle reveals and major shocks. As POV filmed entirely through the perspective of an apparition, this experiment works. There’s emotion to the performance and agency, especially in the 3rd act, as the story escalates to a shocking and satisfying conclusion.

An aspect of “Presence” that was inescapable while watching was the realization that the Payne’s are essentially a 21st-century rendition of the Freeling family from Tobe Hooper's masterpiece “Poltergeist.” The comparison says a lot about the time these films take place. When the ghost hits the fan in the 80s, the Freelings hightail it to the nearest university for expert advice. The 2025 Payne’s call their realtor to get the number of her sister-in-law who “feels” things. The Payne’s are constantly butting heads on the best approach to help their daughter Chloe with the depression she’s suffering after the death of her close friend, Nadia. The Freeling’s teen daughter thinks the haunting sucks and hates it and goes to stay with a friend for the majority of the film. Problem solved for Ma and Pa Freeling. We highly recommend watching these two films back-to-back when “Presence” becomes available on streaming or Blu-ray. 

“Presence” will not be for everyone. It’s a new, exciting take on a creaky old subgenre that takes patience for a payoff. Those who go in with this in mind will leave the theater having experienced something bold and refreshing.

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