Throughout his more than 30 year career, director Steven Soderbergh has been a filmmaker who is willing to think outside the box to create some rather unique content.

That is definitely the case with his latest film “Presence.” On the surface it is a simple haunted house film with a fun visual hook – told from the point of view of whatever is haunting a family in their new home. But working from a script from David Koepp (who wrote the film after an initial pitch from Soderbergh), “Presence” is able to delve much deeper – showing a family on the brink of fracturing, unable to put the past behind them. It’s a film filled with an emotional punch that makes it more than your standard haunted house movie.

“Presence” begins with a family moving into a new home. The mom, Rebecca (Lucy Liu) is a woman who may be using unscrupulous means to get ahead in her career, much to the dismay of her husband Chris (Chris Sullivan). Rebecca has a stronger relationship with her son Tyler (Eddy Maday), while is less sympathetic to the struggles of her daughter Chloe (Callina Liang) – who is dealing with the aftermath of the death of a close friend.

As Chloe begins a relationship with Tyler’s new friend Ryan (West Mulholland), she starts to suspect that there is something or someone else in the house.

Soderbergh frames the film with sweeping, lengthy one shot takes – with the camera swooping from room to room in an almost supernatural manner. Items are moved, the house shakes at times, but mostly this is an entity that just watches – as a result giving the audience a unique behind the curtain look at this family drifting apart. “Presence” is as much about how Chris tries to keep everything together, even as the family is falling apart, as it is about what is this entity that is haunting the house. For fans expecting a conventional horror film, they may be taken aback by the almost cerebral pacing in the 85 minute film. I found it to be fascinating with Soderbergh’s visual flair jarring at first, but ultimately hypnotic and effective.

It all builds to a finale that brings it all together, with a final shot that is quite haunting and memorable. Soderbergh takes the audience on an interesting journey that delivers with its final punch. It’s the filmmaker at his creative best, taking the rules of a genre and stretching to create something unique and very satisfying.

If You Go

“Presence”
Starring: Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Rating: R for violence, drug material, language, sexuality and teen smoking
Playing at: Regal Bowling Green Stadium 12
Grade: B