After premiering at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, one movie, Steven Soderbergh‘s film Presence, left viewers shook. The psychological horror thriller that stars Lucy Liu, Julia Fox, and Chris Sullivan was so intense that some audience members walked out. Not because it wasn’t good, but because it was too intense.
Written by David Koepp, the movie centers around the Payne family. After moving into a new house, they soon discover they are not alone. Presence is a haunted house movie. However, there is a twist: the story is told from the perspective of the entity that haunts the family.
According to Variety, when it premiered at Sundance, it proved to be too much to handle for some. Several viewers exited the film before its end, reportedly saying, “I cannot take this stress so late at night.” One of the viewers stated they suffered from “edge-of-the-seat anxiety.” But viewers were not the only ones affected by Presence. Cast members have indicated that they were deeply affected by it. Star Lucy Liu told the audience, “I’m just devastated. My body is having reactions as if I wasn’t in the movie.” Actor West Mulholland went on to assure the crowd that he is nothing like his character.
So far, the film has left critics pleased and even has a “100% Fresh” Rotten Tomatoes score. While genre fans will be biting at the bit to see Presence, they will have to wait. At the moment, a wide release date has yet to be announced, but we will keep you posted.
