The Presence

I loved the movie so much, I watched it a second time. It is soooo beautifully shot, and it really has something for everyone. It's scary, mysterious, thought-provoking, inspiring, unique, and even romantic, but not conventionally. People seem to get into discussions afterwords, and there is nothing worse than a movie you have nothing to say about after seeing.

I have also since met the Director, and he is such a cool, nice, super smart guy. Someone to watch for sure. I will surely be telling everyone to go see it as soon as it hits theaters. A sleeper hit, I suspect.

I also can NOT watch horror movies, I get waaay too scared. This was scary, but I was still somehow able to watch it--maybe because the point of the movie is not to just scare people, it just happens to be really scary (at least to me) in parts. The scary parts had more going on than just "this movie is just supposed to scare the crap out of you" kinda stuff. It has real characters that you care about or are drawn to, complex relationships, and mysteries to uncover. And the way it is shot and the lighting and environment are like old world paintings, but in the present. Gorgeous.

That feeling on the back of your neck when you're in the house utterly alone, and it's completely silent

except for

that !

That's how this movie builds on you. It doesn't use gobs of red Karo syrup, and no one flies backward on a wire in front of a green screen. It instead plays on your childhood fears when real things go bump.

The house in which the story unfolds is a character unto itself - beautiful and creepy and very well photographed throughout.

A fun and refreshing ghost story, give it a tumble.

It is one of films who creates, scene by scene , ambiguous or different feelings . The silent beginning is great and you hope be silent whole film. Mira Sorvino does a good job but the too bizarre make up for poor Shane West- reduced at real presence - is not so inspired option. And the clash between woman and her boyfriend, the mystical final, the man in black in the bout and the black man as universal answer are too unconvincing. Short, noble intentions, beautiful beginning, poor Shane West and Justin Kirk , missing story , admirable cinematography and the desire to give a sort of spiritual or mystic film. But it fails.

The first minutes (quite a lot of minutes actually, though I did not count) are completely without any dialog. This seems to work as a silent movie as well. Of course later on, we'll get dialog and we'll get the story going. It is quite original in its theme and what it tries to do. I'd even say it achieves that goal.

Sorvino plays it as good as it gets, but the mentioned pace might feel and lead people into disliking the movie. I wasn't sure at first either. But it's nice seeing something trying to go another route. The cinematography is really good and the sound design fits really good too. We may have some action towards the end, that might feel a bit too much, but it's still true to the nature of the movie.

(2010) The Presence SUPERNATURAL DRAMA

Watching this film is like a short story expanded into a long subtle ghost story movie where nothing really happens throughout until the final act. Where the makers are asking us to observe and hold out until near the end is when things really start to happen. Co-produced, written and directed by Tom Provost starring Mira Sorvino as a woman walking into an isolated cabin on a island. And there appears to be a man inside of this cabin that she can't see who happens to be a ghost who is "The Presence" hence the title, he's played by Shane West. As this ghost stands around doing nothing exciting enough to scare her or anyone for that matter, except automatically turning on a record player or dislocating some books, we have come to the conclusion that the ghost is only a neutral ghost. Viewers get to know more information regarding the history of the cabin, as well as another ghost who happens to be up to no good, and doesn't conveniently appear until her boyfriend shows up. All I can say is that to say anymore is pointless, since their isn't really a plot to speak about except to say that the film is not even scary at all. It is however an "unique" one in the sense that in real life when things seem to move out of place, we can sometimes safely assume that it's the result of the ghost that moved those things in the same way people can believe in miracles. That if theirs a good ghost that there also must also be an evil one too, or an undivided one.