Become the ghost in Steven Soderbergh's Presence trailer

Halloween continues to be a good day for frightening first looks and terrifying trailers. This time around, Steven Soderbergh has reached into his bag of tricks and pulled out something new and exciting for his latest horror feature. As the Presence trailer demonstrates, the camera itself is doing the haunting in this atmospheric film, which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Written by David Koepp (of Jurassic Park fame), this innovative scary story will debut in theaters on January 17. 

Presence follows a family (figuratively, but also sort of literally) that moves into a new home and starts to sense a—well, you get it. Lucy Liu and Chris Sullivan play a couple whose marriage is already on the rocks when the haunting begins. Meanwhile, their daughter, played by Callina Liang, has recently experienced the loss of a close friend that leaves her in mourning. As the spectral being attempts to communicate with the family, it takes a particular interest in her. 

In the Presence trailer, we watch the family from the perspective of their ghost. It glides around the house, quietly unnerving, hovering over their shoulders and spying on their intimate moments. As the camera drifts ominously from room to room, Liang explains the experience of loss in voice-over: “It’s scary. And it goes on…Like, the world cracks apart. You fall into this hole, and the sides are mud, and you can’t get up,” she explains. “You wonder where they are. And you wonder what it would be like if you were there too.” As the trailer ends, she approaches a dirty living room mirror and reaches out to touch it—almost like she’s trying to make contact with something on the other side.

Distributed by NEON, the film also features West Mulholland, Julia Fox as the family’s realtor, and Eddy Maday as their son.