Presence * * * ½

Aww, you said there was a present in here.
I said "Presence!"

Steven Soderberg is always an interesting director.  Pretty adaptable too: he seems to be able to turn his hand to anything (Magic Mike, Logan Lucky Oceans Eleven and many more).  The style of this one reminds me of  Unsane, which he did in 2018.  I'm not sure if, like Unsane it was all shot on a mobile phone but it looks like it.  Given the storyline, locations and circumstances it would be appropriate

It reminded me a little of A Ghost Story, in that the major character (the ghost) cannot leave the house.  Whereas in that story we could see the ghost, in Presence the ghost is subjective. We are the ghost, we look through it's eyes and see everything as the ghost does. It's a girl ghost but I'm not sure how it ended up in this rather weirdly renovated hundred year old house.

Before the family move in, the painters come to spruce up the rooms. One of the painters gets the heebeejeebies and he "ain't going in that room". 

When the family move in "That room" is the room given over to Chloe, the teenage daughter.  A troubled girl who has recently lost two of her best friends.

Girl Ghost is a bit of a character at first, moving books around etc, but then she gets a little more assertive as she tries to put Chloe's bullying elder brother in his place.  When the family witness all his stuff getting tossed about they figure, 'Hmmmm ...something weird is going on here".  Enter the overpriced shonky clairvoyant.

Like A Ghost Story, Presence leaves no room for alternative explanations.  This is a ghost and it's real. The end. 

When Chloe gets herself a new boyfriend The Ghost is not happy with her choice and decides said boyfriend must be sent on his way.  We can see what The Ghost is seeing so we kind of agree with The Ghost, that the boyfriend is a bad egg.

Some say that Presence is a very scary film.  I didn't think so. But with the stretched "Ghost Eye" perspectives, semi dark lighting and an oddly renovated house, that we never leave, it certainly has a discomforting "presence" - I suppose might be the right word.