80
Metascore
19 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThe Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThis is an enormously satisfying watch for haunted house movie fans, favoring sustained anxiety over big scares and practical effects over digital trickery.
- 90New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriNew York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriPresence isn’t afraid to be narratively predictable, because it’s out there visually. It’s an art film that also works as a spellbinding horror film, and it might be the best thing Soderbergh has done in ages.
- 85The Daily BeastNick SchagerThe Daily BeastNick SchagerThe director’s latest is a distinctly cool, dynamic Soderbergian riff on Michael Powell’s "Peeping Tom" via "The Haunting," with a dash of "Paranormal Activity" sprinkled around its edges.
- 83The Film StageJordan RaupThe Film StageJordan RaupWeaving in skillfully employed, grounded visual effects, it’s rather shocking just how much the ghost, sight unseen, feels like another character in the movie.
- 80Screen DailyTim GriersonScreen DailyTim GriersonThe film proves to be a sleek, efficient exercise, with Soderbergh riffing on the conventions of the haunted-house thriller while applying intelligence and technical mastery.
- 80Rolling StoneDavid FearRolling StoneDavid FearWhile the dizzying, dazzling cinematography, self-shot under his usual D.P. pseudonym Peter Andrews, demands you pay attention to the technical virtuosity, that gambit (or gimmick — your call) is merely setting the table for something else.
- 70ColliderRoss BonaimeColliderRoss BonaimeTold from the perspective of a “presence” in a house, Soderbergh explores this type of horror story in a way that only he can, playing with the structure of similar films, screwing with our expectations for this type of film, and once more, testing himself while showing the untapped potential in the genre.
- 67IndieWireKatie RifeIndieWireKatie RifeThe problem is that, while the film is conceptually solid, its story gets shakier as it goes along.
- 60VarietyOwen GleibermanVarietyOwen GleibermanYou want the movie to add up to something, but what it adds up to is another half-diverting, half-satisfying Soderbergh bauble, only this time he’s the ghost in the machine.