Presence

"In this house there is a presence."

2025 1h 24m EN

😐

6.1

MID

★6.1TMDB · 829

HorrorThrillerDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A couple and their children move into a seemingly normal suburban home. When strange events occur, they begin to believe there is something else in the house with them. The presence is about to disrupt their lives in unimaginable ways.

“In this house there is a presence.”

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Cast

Callina Liang
Chloe
Lucy Liu
Rebekah
Chris Sullivan
Chris
Eddy Maday
Tyler
West Mulholland
Ryan
Julia Fox
Cece
Lucas Papaelias
Carl
Natalie Woolams-Torres
Lisa

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Steven Soderbergh
Writers: David Koepp
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

84 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 5.5× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released last year.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Steven Soderbergh, shot by Steven Soderbergh. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Zack Ryan. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Steven Soderbergh shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Callina Liang and Lucy Liu and Chris Sullivan carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Steven Soderbergh directs. Steven Soderbergh behind the camera. Zack Ryan scores. Steven Soderbergh cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

184 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Made its money back 5.5× over at the box office.
4Released last year.
5Directed by Steven Soderbergh, shot by Steven Soderbergh. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Zack Ryan. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Steven Soderbergh shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Callina Liang and Lucy Liu and Chris Sullivan carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "In this house there is a presence.".
10IMDB entry: tt28249919 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 27 themes, including "husband wife relationship", "new jersey", "haunted house", "grief".

The technical file

Cinematography: Steven Soderbergh
Original score: Zack Ryan
Editing: Steven Soderbergh
Production design: April Lasky
Costume design: Marci Rodgers
Makeup / hair: Roxanne Rizzo
VFX supervisor: Yuval Levy
Sound: Josh Berger
Stunt coordinator: Tracey Ruggiero
Runtime: 84 min · 1h 24m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $2,000,000
Box office: $11,069,405
Return: 553% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Presence (2025)

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Steven Soderbergh

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

r96sk2025-01-24
★ 7/10
'Presence' holds uniqueness in regards to how it is filmed, which is very effective, though its story does end up being quite straightforward - and more teen drama-ry than anticipated. All the same, I did enjoy myself whilst watching it unfold across 85mins, pleasantly. The cast are also a strong point of this film. Lucy Liu and Eddy Maday are decent, though Callina Liang and Chris Sullivan are the definitive standouts - both t'rific. West Mulholland is solid in his role, even if I'm not absolutely sold on everything that goes on with his character. Interesting that this closely follows the release (at least in the UK) of Robert Zemeckis' 'Here' - two films shot in original perspectives. This Steven Soderbergh picture isn't quite as high class as that one, but all in all is worthy of a watch; especially with such a short run time. Thanks to the aforementioned, I was able to watch this at the cinema shortly after finishing Mel Gibson's 'Flight Risk'. You could say both do have a feel of being made-for-streaming (this feels <a href="https://letterboxd.com/r96sk/list/ranked-welcome-to-the-blumhouse/" rel="nofollow">Welcome to the Blumhouse</a>-esque), but I will never moan about the ability to watch movies on the big screen.
CinemaSerf2025-01-29
★ 6/10
A family move into a new home - now I did like the meandering corridors and design of this spacious plot, but quickly we discover that it's a paper thin façade for four people who are struggling to get over a trauma. Nope, nothing new so far and, indeed nothing new to come either as daughter "Chloe" (Callina Lang) falls for the rakish "Ryan" (West Mulholland) who is the new best friend of her hunky, charm free and brain dead brother "Tyler" (Eddy Maday). Pretty swiftly, they are at it but simultaneously she starts to feel that she is being watched. Things move about on their own, her brother's room gets trashed and even the woman they bring in to do the "Madame Arcati" thing thinks something isn't right with the place and it's old silver nitrate mirror. Next thing... Well you'll have to watch it and see, but for me the opening couple of minutes of hand-held POV photography really put me off - especially it's use of the fish-eye, scene-stretching, lenses which people don't actually possess. It made me feel slightly seasick and I couldn't decide if it was a drone cam or a very sure-footed person gliding silently about the place giving us a repetitive third party perspective into the family's lives. Mum (Lucy Liu) rarely puts her laptop down; dad (Chris Sullivan) sort of lumbers around rudderless; the brother is a bit of an attention seeking idiot and finally, the daughter is a moody and uninteresting teenager trying to deal with some baggage about which we learn more, later. The parents come across as a couple who would never in a million years have chosen each other in the first place. At least the production doesn't try to hoodwink us with repetitive visual effects, but what we are left with here is a dialogue heavy story that ends all too abruptly as if the short story it's adapted from just ran out of ideas. Disappointing, sorry.
Manuel São Bento2025-01-29
★ 8/10
FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://movieswetextedabout.com/presence-review-the-first-great-film-of-the-year/ "Presence challenges narrative conventions and leaves an indelible mark on the cinematic landscape of 2025. Steven Soderbergh's bold choice to tell the story entirely through the perspective of the supernatural entity proves to be a risk that pays off, delivering an immersive, unique approach that captivates the audience until the very end while intensifying the emotional connection to the complex family. The authenticity of the performances and the fascinating exploration of themes like grief, loneliness, and redemption outweigh the repetitive editing and minor unnecessary subplots, without undermining the overall impact and brilliance of the finale. It's the first truly great film of the year." Rating: A-