Presence

Whatever your feelings on ghosts and the supernatural, there comes a time when we all have to admit this world is full of mystery. In Steven Soderbergh’s Presence, the Payne family must come to terms with their beliefs when a hidden force causes disturbances in their new home.

Like most haunted house movies, this one has a ton of buildup where the family members try to explain away the strange occurrences until desperation forces them to bring in some kind of expert. Thankfully someone is around who can explain just what is going on here, otherwise this family might be toast.

Turns out, the presence is not there to hurt them, but it does have a reason to stick around. It may not even know why. But usually, whatever’s happening in the spiritual realm is directly tied to what’s going on here in the physical. Chloe, a teenage girl, is the first to recognize the presence, believing it to be the spirit of her recently deceased friend. 

Her brother Tyler has no sympathy for her grief and mocks her for trying to get attention. Their mom Rebekah enables Tyler’s bad behavior because he’s her favorite. Their dad Chris has always been a skeptic himself, despite having a very religious mother. Yet with age, he’s become more open to the fact he can’t explain everything away. Maybe God is real. Who knows.

Some are inherently more sensitive to spiritual matters, but there are moments in life which can open our eyes to the unseen reality that comfort conceals. Maybe the door has just been cracked open a little, allowing something into our world. But doors work both ways, which means we too can see through to the other side.

My key takeaway from the film was seeing how traumatic life experiences can either draw us closer to God or cause us to reject Him. The same tragedy can either knit a family together or inflict irreparable damage. It all depends on how we respond. The harder life gets, we can’t ignore the big questions any more. It’s time to ask ourselves what we believe.