Presence turns a ghost story into an exercise in looking: the camera is the presence, and the film stays with its view as it watches a family settle into a house—and struggle with one another.
What is Presence about?
Directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by David Koepp, Presence is an 85-minute supernatural thriller, according to Scroll.in’s 2025 review. A family moves into a house occupied by a spirit. Rather than presenting the ghost as a figure seen from outside, the film makes the camera its point of view.
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The household includes Chris (Chris Sullivan), Rebekah (Lucy Liu), and their teenage children Tyler (Eddy Maday) and Chloe (Callina Liang). Tyler brings his friend Ryan (West Mullholland) home. As the spirit observes them, tensions within the family come into view: Rebekah openly favors Tyler, while Chloe is trying to emerge from her shell.
How does the ghost’s point of view shape the film?
The camera remains with the presence as it moves through the house and watches its occupants. That restriction changes the usual grammar of a haunted-house story: viewers do not simply watch characters react to a ghost; they look out from the ghost’s position, following what it chooses—or is able—to observe.
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Koepp described the writing challenge in an interview with The Credits, published February 6, 2025: “I’ve written POV shots, of course,” said Koepp. “But I’ve never written a whole movie from one limited point of view. The presence itself, played by the camera, is in every single scene.” The constraint makes perspective part of the story’s structure, not just a visual flourish.
Soderbergh, who also shot and edited the film, uses long takes and smooth camera movement to build tension, as Scroll notes. In an interview with Amy Taubin for Filmmaker Magazine, republished January 24, 2025, he said: “I wanted you to see [the presence] learn how to be.” The interview describes his effort to shoot in chronological order where possible, so the presence’s changing behavior could register as it learns and becomes more directed.
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Is Presence a horror film?
The label depends on what a viewer expects from horror. Scroll’s reviewer argues that the film does not qualify as a horror film, emphasizing its perspective and reading it as a metaphor for truths about tragedy hiding in plain sight. That metaphor is the reviewer’s interpretation, rather than a confirmed statement of Soderbergh’s or Koepp’s intent.
Koepp, meanwhile, told The Credits that the filmmakers were not especially interested in jump scares. He described the experience as eerie, filled with dread, unsettling, and intense. A useful description is a ghost story or supernatural thriller in which family drama and a formal experiment may matter as much as conventional horror scares.
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Where can you watch or buy Presence?
Availability depends on region and date. Scroll reported on October 6, 2025, that Presence was available on Lionsgate Play in India; that dated report does not confirm current availability. Check the service’s present catalog in your territory.
NEON’s official film page lists a Blu-ray release. It does not establish current stock or price, so check the retailer’s listing for the specific edition and its availability.
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
