In the midst of grieving a recently deceased friend, a teenage girl named Chloe starts to sense a spirit in her family's new house. Her family is skeptical, but random things start to happen that can't be explained. The film takes place from the point of view of the spirit that observes the family. 

 

In many famous film examples of being watched from afar like in Black Christmas (1974) or Halloween (1978), the voyeur is close, but not too close as to not be seen. We're dealing with an invisible entity here so it's far more intense, a force right in a character's face, who only feels it if they are open to the idea. The editing's strict vignette approach is probably the strongest creative choice in moving the film along efficiently. The bold cuts between each and every scene definitely feel odd at first, but become unnoticeable as it goes on.

 

The biggest issue I have with this film is the story. For such an exciting concept waiting in the wings to be explored, it stays in the safe zone. Some of the characters when together feel like you're watching a rather corny 'don't do drugs film' in health class. But the two outstanding performances, individually and in tandem, were from Callina Liang who plays Chloe and Chris Sullivan who plays her dad Chris. Their strong and authentic connection alone is probably the most memorable part of the whole thing for me. Sullivan is always a force on the screen, and I hope to see more of Liang in the thriller/horror sphere. 

 

With the amount of fun and spooky moments, I just feel like they could have done something, and I mean ANYTHING other than centering the film around the sexual and induced drug violence of young teenage girls. It's just overdone at this point. I could go on and on about this, but I would really like to see this concept done with a different story and a much less rushed and sloppy conclusion. 

 

Presence is in no way a masterclass in voyeurism, but its surely paving the way for more fleshed out iterations to come.