The Presence is a subtle ghost story. I like the plot of the movie but at the same time I feel it had an extremely boring start. The first 15 minutes were such a drag with not a single dialogue and nothing scary happening either. However, I pushed myself to watch the entire movie and by the end I did like the story minus the boring part of it.
Tom Provost made his directorial debut with The Presence and I do feel that he executed the movie in an innovative and different style. To make a horror movie with few dialogues, less action and minimal scary scenes is an art too and he did it fairly well. The cast of the movie was a major plus point with Mira Sorvino, Shane West, Justin Kirk and Tony Curran in the main leads.
The story starts in an extremely slow manner with a woman (Mira Sorvino) going to an isolated cabin in the beautiful and peaceful mountains of Oregon. She looks all strong and in control from the outside but from the inside, she is playing a character who is quite insecured, disturbed and sensitive because of her past. She wants to escape the real world and live quietly in the cabin where nobody is around.
However, she is not alone there. Her cabin already has a strange presence. An apparition is keeping an eye on her and everything she does from the moment she reaches that cabin. Soon, Mira's boyfriend (Justin Kirk) makes an unexpected arrival at the cabin too, which Mira is not liking.
Within a few days, the darker force or presence becomes stronger and in turn Mira behaves in an irritable manner. Justin Kirk plays the role of a very patient boyfriend who is too madly in love with Mira and is taking her irrational behavior in a calm manner.
So, basically the movie just revolves around these characters and how the trapped ghost is set free in the end while Mira ends up facing her insecurities and decides to lead a better life leaving behind her past.
Yes, this is not really a super scary horror movie from any angle. It's just that the idea that other beings are present around us and the evil ones try to take over our space. Just like humans, even these beings are good and bad. Some instigate us while others help us.
It's a movie for those who believe in the existence of such beings.The negatives in the movie are definitely the parts that were not required...they could have cut down on a lot of scenes. The actors each played the parts in an incredible way so full points to them. Not highly recommended but a movie for believers...
