Monday, January 19, 2026

Presence: Soderbergh offers fresh take on the haunted house genre


★★★★--Told from the point of view of an unseen spirit, the film was really interesting and fresh. Takes the familiar haunted-house setup and gives the audience this intimate experience. We are inhabiting the ghost’s perspective as it observes a family unraveling. Good stuff. 

 

Lucy Liu is the only real star. She is still great and looks as good as she ever has. Julia Fox, the woman from Uncut Gems with hella ass, makes a brief appearance. Chris Sullivan, who plays the dad, I’ve seen around. He also delivers a strong performance. I see he and I are the same age… The kids, Callina Liang and Eddy Maday, are better than fine. 

 

Steven Soderbergh is so good with restraint. Turns the new family home into a space of tense, unspoken trauma. This meditative, unsettling thriller that lingers. Even made me pretty emotional. So many bangers from that guy. For whatever reason I don’t think he gets talked about a whole lot, but dude always brings it and is crazy prolific. I will see any movie he makes as long as he is making them. 

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