Movies about haunted houses can vary greatly in terms of scares and the style of horror tactics used by the director. The Others successfully pulled off one of the biggest twists in the subgenre, departing from the usual tropes seen in the media like Poltergeist or The Haunting of Hill House. Now, director Steven Soderbergh (Full Circle) has created a new take on the classic haunted house situation in which a family moves into a new home and quickly begins to suspect they are not alone in the house. Written by David Koepp, the mastermind behind screenplays for movies like Jurassic Park, Stir of Echoes, Ghost Town, and more, Presence will give audiences an entirely new perspective on ghosts. More specifically, the perspective of the ghost in the story.
Lucy Liu (Kill Bill Vol. 1) stars as Rebecca, the mother of Chloe (Callina Liang) and Tyler (Eddy Maday) and the wife of Chris (Chris Sullivan). The family moves into a suburban home haunted by a young woman, Cece (Julia Fox), who follows them around, observing their private lives and relationships with one another. Presence is shot entirely from the first-person perspective and debuted at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where NEON subsequently acquired distribution rights. This movie was well-received by audiences at Sundance, but some audience members deemed it “too stressful,” and walked out. Filmed in just three weeks in Cranford, New Jersey, the movie takes place nearly entirely within the house and has no close-ups. With the wide theatrical release coming up this weekend, continue reading to find out how you can watch the upcoming supernatural thriller.
Is ‘Presence’ Available on Streaming?
Presence will have an exclusive theatrical release before moving to a streaming platform. With Neon as the distribution company, the film will eventually become available to watch on Hulu after the theatrical run. Hulu and Neon recently signed a multi-year output deal in which Hulu will have exclusive streaming rights to Neon films after theatrical release, such as Immaculate, Cuckoo, Infinity Pool, and the Academy Award-winning legal drama, Anatomy of a Fall.
Is ‘Presence’ In Theaters?
Yes! Presence had a limited release on January 16 and will have a wide release on January 24, 2025. The horror movie will be released the same weekend as thrillers, Flight Risk, Inheritance, and Into the Deep.
Find Showtimes for ‘Presence’
Check out the links below to find tickets and showtimes for Presence at a theater near you. Don’t miss out on seeing this one on the big screen!
Watch the Trailer for ‘Presence’
The first official trailer was released by NEON on October 31, 2024, which is a fitting date for a horror movie. The second official trailer was just released on Sunday, January 12, offering eager audiences a bit more to chew on before the theatrical release. Both trailers give a taste of the filming style and what to expect from the voyeuristic ghostly specter. The official synopsis for the film is but one sentence, keeping interested viewers at arm’s length. It reads as follows: “A family moves into a suburban house and becomes convinced they are not alone.”
Other Ghostly Movies Like ‘Presence’ You Can Watch Now
Presence is a more delicate and nuanced haunted house movie that takes a more elevated route to horror as opposed to more gory ghost stories like 13 Ghosts or The Haunting in Connecticut. If you’re looking to watch something with fewer horrific images and jump scares while you wait to see Presence, check out these similar movies!
The Others (2001)
The Others
In 1945, immediately following the end of Second World War, a woman who lives with her two photosensitive children on her darkened old family estate in the Channel Islands becomes convinced that the home is haunted.
- Release Date
-
August 10, 2001
- Director
-
Alejandro Amenábar
- Runtime
-
104 minutes
- Writers
-
Alejandro Amenábar
- Budget
-
$17 million
- Studio(s)
-
StudioCanal
- Distributor(s)
-
Warner Bros. Pictures
, StudioCanal
, Dimension Films
This Nicole Kidman film features Kidman as Grace Stewart, a mother of two children who suffer from a rare disorder that makes them extremely sensitive to light. They reside in a remote country house in 1945, awaiting the return of her husband, Charles (Christopher Eccleston), who has gone off to fight in the war. Her children begin to claim they are being visited by a young boy named Victor, his parents, and a blind elderly woman. When Grace begins to hear footsteps and voices in the house, she begins to fear that intruders are lurking in the shadowy corners of the house, and she searches for them, refusing to believe that supernatural entities exist.
A Ghost Story (2017)
A Ghost Story
In this singular exploration of legacy, love, loss, and the enormity of existence, a recently deceased, white-sheeted ghost returns to his suburban home to try to reconnect with his bereft wife.
- Release Date
-
April 24, 2017
- Director
-
David Lowery
- Writers
-
David Lowery
While not a horror movie, A Ghost Story parallels the voyeuristic aspects of Presence. The A24 supernatural drama opens with a young couple, only referred to as M (Rooney Mara) and C (Casey Affleck). They hear a disturbing noise in their home one night and aren’t able to figure out what caused it. M, who has moved homes frequently throughout her life, wants to leave, but C is against the idea. Soon after, C is killed in a car accident and M watches the mortician place the white sheet over his body at the hospital. C wakes up, now covered in his ghostly white sheet, invisible to the living, and returns home as a ghost. He watches M grieve her loss and eventually proceed with her life. He also meets another ghost from next door, covered in a floral-printed sheet claiming she is waiting for someone, but can’t remember who she is waiting for. The movie is a touching examination of love, loss, and legacy.
Things Heard & Seen (2021)
Things Heard & Seen
- Release Date
-
April 29, 2021
- Director
-
Shari Springer Berman
, Robert Pulcini - Runtime
-
121 minutes
- Character(s)
-
Catherine Claire
, George Claire
, Willis
, Eddie Vayle
, Justine
, Travis Laughton
, Mare Laughton
, Cole Vayle
, Floyd DeBeers
, Bram
, Franny Claire
, Peg
, Audrey Claire
, Husband #2
, Wife #1
, Husband #1
, Lynne
, Tom Claire
, Pat
, Blind Woman
, Ella Vayle
, Poet
, Millicent
, Martin
, Mr. Pratt - Writers
-
Shari Springer Berman
, Elizabeth Brundage
, Robert Pulcini - Producers
-
Anthony Bregman
, Peter Pastorelli
, Stefanie Azpiazu
, Peter Cron
, Stephen Lippross
Set in 1980, Things Heard & Seen follows Catherine Claire (Amanda Seyfried), who gives up her job as an art restorer in Manhattan to move to a large farmhouse in upstate New York with her husband, George (James Norton). George, who has just started a new job as an art history professor, begins an affair soon after the move and Catherine is left home by herself for long periods of time. One day, she discovers an old bible that has the family tree of the previous owners listed inside. Several of the names have been scratched out with the word “damned” inscribed next to them. Catherine and George’s daughter comes to their room one night, claiming to see a woman in her room and begs to sleep in their bed. As tensions escalate between her and George, more strange things begin to occur around the house, such as flickering lights and a radio that starts playing. She finds an antique ring and begins wearing it, but when she is told it belonged to the previous owners who died in a murder-suicide, she has to figure out a way to put the ghostly woman to rest so she and her family can live in peace.
Showcases a suburban house inhabited by an mysterious entity.
