Presence
Directed by Christian Schultz3.54.0
Two young business partners are invited to a week-long yachting voyage with a potential investor. At night, Jennifer's dreams begin to bleed into reality as the others realize that Jennifer may have unknowingly brought something on-board.
Presence Ratings & Reviews
- Kevin WardJuly 6, 2025Presence is a horror/thriller set on a luxury yacht where two upstart business partners are trying to ink some funding from an investor. Jennifer (one of the partners) has begun having some murderous dreams, but before long the lines between dream and reality begin to blur. Feels like a cross between a Lifetime film and a Shudder film meshed into one. The setup is fine for getting the characters into this gorgeous but isolated luxurious location. When the tone turns to horror, the narrative gets a little too muddled and doesn’t really get adequately cleared up by the end—even after the odd inclusion of a post-credit scene.
- jackmeatMarch 9, 2025My quick rating - 3.7/10. This movie sets sail with a premise that at least sparked my interest. Two young business partners, Jennifer (Jenna Lyng Adams) and Samantha (Alexandria DeBerry), are invited on a week-long yacht trip with a potential investor. However, the voyage takes a sinister turn as Jennifer’s dreams start bleeding into reality, bringing an unknown presence aboard. Visually, the film makes solid use of its yacht setting, crafting an eerie and isolated atmosphere. The cinematography is competent, and some of the creepy moments are executed with a nice touch. Unfortunately, that’s about where the positives end. The film struggles with direction, unable to decide whether it wants to be a possession horror, a cult thriller, or something in between. Instead, it flounders in ambiguity, raising too many unanswered questions without the intrigue to back it up. The writing is weak, leaving the characters hollow, especially Jennifer, who lacks any real backstory to invest in. Dialogue is another major issue—much of it is mumbled, making it difficult to follow, which only adds to the frustration. While the lead actresses being models may have been a selling point, their performances are hindered by the poor script and sound issues. The biggest problem, however, is the pacing. Presence lingers too long without enough payoff, and just when it seems like it might finally pull you in, it abruptly ends, leaving you unsatisfied. Unlike films that successfully leave things open to interpretation, this one just feels incomplete. And at 82 minutes, there was plenty of time to finish up the story. As a debut feature, director Christian Schultz shows some promise in terms of aesthetics and atmosphere, but the execution falls flat. With so many stronger horror films available, this is one that’s easily skippable. At best, it’s a one-time watch, but even then, there are better ways to spend your time.
Presence Trivia
Presence was released on November 17, 2022.
Presence was directed by Christian Schultz.
Presence has a runtime of 82 min.
Presence was produced by Isaiah LaBorde, John Paul Summers.
The key characters in Presence are Jennifer (Jenna Lyng Adams), David (Dave Davis), Samantha (Alexandria DeBerry).
Presence is rated Not Rated.
Presence is a Horror film.
Presence has an audience rating of 3.5 out of 10.