A family moves into their new home, but they soon realise something else is there with them.
A ghost story seen through the eyes of a ghost. In scriptwriting, amongst others, we usually ask: what does the hero/ine want? What does the hero/ine need? That said, when the hero/ine is a ghost, can we ever tell with certainty? And then, how much of that information do the filmmakers feed back to people? And, of course, how do they do it?
Look at aliens. They and their politics reflect us and our politics. Ghosts, though? How can we tell what they really want or need? Come to think about it, I don’t think we’ve ever got right what aliens would have wanted or needed, but then again, I don’t think there have been any legitimate known encounters, so there you are.
Going back to Presence, in David Koepp’s script, it seems that the family is experiencing the presence as much as the presence is experiencing the family. The family can’t tell what the ghost wants, but then the family doesn’t know what they really want either, which is the film’s subplot. There are two camps in the house that don’t seem to communicate properly. And that is something the ghost senses and knows better than anyone else, how it affects the daughter. How does that affect the plot, though? Well, stick for an hour and twenty minutes and you’ll find out. Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan, Callina Liang, Eddy Maday, and West Mulholland do a great job in front of the camera.
From a filmmaking point of view, Steven Sonderberg’s protracted and uncut shots add realism by making the audience an omniscient narrator following the action wherever it is taken, but restricting it to what the heroes know. It is a slow-burn paranormal thriller—not horror—carrying a lot of relatable drama that only climaxes in the end – Liu’s outburst will cut your breath short.
Great watch for all horror fans, regardless of what you think of it in the end.
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