Contagion director’s new “intense” horror movie causes walkouts

Steven Soderbergh, the director behind Contagion and Ocean’s Eleven, is set to release a new horror in 2024, and the movie is so “intense” it’s been causing walkouts. 

2024 is shaping up to be a solid year for horror. Coming up next is Diablo Cody’s Lisa Frankenstein, a blend of comedy, horror, and romance, followed by Imaginary from Blumhouse and Abigail from Scream filmmakers Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. 

And if that weren’t enough, Art the Clown will be making a festive return in Terrifier 3 later this year. And then there’s the horrifying Longlegs, which has already been hailed the “scariest movie of 2024” – ahead of its release. 

It appears the genre has plenty more in store too, with Steven Soderbergh’s latest flick causing a stir with cinema walkouts. 

Contagion director’s new “intense” horror movie causes walkouts

Soderbergh’s upcoming ghost movie Presence has been described as “intense” and “stressful,” so much so that a number of audience members walked out of the theater during its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival on January 19. 

As per Variety’s Stephen Rodrick: “On multiple trips to the washroom – blast the diuretic qualities of Diet Mountain Dew – I spied the entire cast watching the film with edge-of-the-seat anxiety, much like the rest of the theater. (There were a couple of walkouts in the otherwise rapturous audience, one who whispered, ‘I cannot take this stress so late at night.’)”

Written by David Koepp and directed by Soderbergh, Presence stars Lucy Liu, Julia Fox, Callina Liang, and Chris Sullivan, centering on a fraying family as they’re haunted by a mysterious entity. Rodrick goes on to say that “the buzz was all about how Presence was told from the ghost’s point-of-view, you’re watching the ghost watching everyone else. Soderbergh is the cinematographer, so he is essentially the ghost.”

Walkouts at film festivals are, of course, nothing new. It’s happened countless times before with movies such as Lars Von Trier’s The House That Jack Built, Gaspar Noé’s Irreversible, and Flying Lotus’ Kuso. Often, it can help rather than hinder a film’s performance by creating hype and intrigue. 

With just a couple of walkouts noted, the reaction isn’t quite as strong for Presence, but there’s certainly a lot of hype. Soderbergh is known for his diverse repertoire, having helmed films such as Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Erin Brockovich, Insane, Magic Mike, Contagion, and the Oceans Eleven movie series. 

Vulture’s Bilge Ebiri said: “Presence isn’t afraid to be narratively predictable, because it’s out there visually. It’s an art film that also works as a spellbinding horror film, and it might be the best thing Soderbergh has done in ages.”

Elsewhere, LA Times film critic Justin Chang said that Presence “jolts Sundance to life,” adding: “Soderbergh has elected to tell this haunted-house story entirely from the perspective of the haunter. Shooting in wide-angled long takes that range in tenor from voyeuristic languor to nerve-shredding anxiety, he transforms a domestic horror exercise into another Soderberghian tour de force.”

It’s these positive early reviews that have led to Presence earning a perfect 100% score from the critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The only downside is that there’s no trailer or release date yet, although we can expect it to be released sometime in 2024 following its Sundance premiere. We’ll be sure to keep you posted as and when new details roll in.