If you loved Longlegs and think Cuckoo looks pretty solid too, you’ll be happy to learn that NEON will be staying in the arena of suspense and horror for the foreseeable. In January 2025, Presence is coming from Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s Eleven, Magic Mike), and it could be unlike anything we’ve ever seen.
The pitch is simple: This is a supernatural entity story… from the point of view of the supernatural entity. We’ve had experiments with the format, such as the Paranormal Activity series, but this type of horror tale had never been told (at least in a mainstream feature) from the other perspective, and that alone might be enough to get many horror fanatics and casual moviegoers into the cinema. And if you were wondering who wrote this: It’s Jurassic Park’s David Koepp, a veteran Steven Spielberg collaborator, who’s also helped shape the next Jurassic World movie.
Earlier this year, we also had the opportunity to watch In a Violent Nature in theaters, a slasher movie narrated from the killer’s POV. While it wasn’t super groundbreaking, it was a welcome change of pace, so maybe Presence can replicate that for the admittedly overdone ‘haunted house’ subgenre. There seems to be a demand for small twists on classic scary formulas as of late, so these two might be the start of a bigger movement towards reinventing horror for younger generations.
Presence’s first teaser isn’t even one minute long, but it’s already setting a somber mood and letting casual viewers know that Soderbergh’s career is one of the wildest and most fascinating around. You can watch it here:
The movie was shot in 2023 and already screened in this year’s Sundance Film Festival, earning a 92% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from critics. NEON soon emerged victorious with the distribution rights to it, trying to keep its awesome streak of wins going into 2025. Another big horror bet from the company which should get people talking in the near future is Shelby Oaks, directed by YouTube film critic Chris Stuckmann and backed by horror maestro Mike Flanagan.
Presence’s cast includes Lucy Liu, Julia Fox, Chris Sullivan, Callina Liang, Eddy Maday, and West Mulholland. It’s scheduled to be released in select theaters in the United States on January 17, 2025, before expanding wide on January 24, 2025. Stay tuned for the international rollout plans in the coming months.
