Back in the day, it was a special privilege to make a movie. The top-quality film cameras were expensive and difficult to come by, and homemade technology was primitive and a glaringly inferior product. Now, anyone can direct a film likeUnsane, a gripping, mean, and tight-as-a-drum psychological horror-thriller shot on an iPhone. The average person is unlikely to reach the same heights as the 2018 film, as it was directed by one of the greats,Steven Soderbergh. A major league director in Soderbergh going to the proverbial minor league by deploying independent filmmaking tactics seems like an unnecessary stunt, but his overlooked horror film, starring the exceptionalClaire Foy, proved that, with a precise vision behind the handheld camera,iPhone photography can be just as visually dynamic as traditional film or digital photography.As Soderbergh’s latest project, a supernatural horror titledPresence,hits theaters, it’s worth looking back on one of the director’s most experimental works.
Steven Soderbergh’s Never Been Afraid to Experiment With Movies
Steven Soderbergh is the Academy Award-winning director ofTrafficwho has helmed a trilogy ofblockbusters in theOcean’s Elevenseries. In the last 30 years, only a handful of filmmakers are more accomplished than him, yet hestill carries himself with thespirit and maverick tendencies of an indie director.In between tentpole projects, Soderbergh cashed in one of his “one for me” checks and made off-kilter experiments likeFull FrontalandBubble, which have the visual aesthetic of a home movie. In most of his films, Soderbergh serves as his own editor and cinematographer, credited under the pseudonyms Mary Ann Bernard and Peter Andrews, respectively. Where his contemporaries, such asQuentin TarantinoandPaul Thomas Anderson,have extended gaps between films, Soderbergh churns out projects at a prolific rate. At 61, hisyouthful approach to experimentation is often ahead of its time, even if the public is slow to appreciate his work.
It doesn’t take a film major to identify that something about the visual aesthetic ofUnsanelooks peculiar. Shot entirely on aniPhone 7 Plus with the FiLMic video app, Soderbergh’s psychological horror film follows Sawyer Valentini (Foy), a woman distressed by her previous encounter with a stalker as she tries to move on with her life. One day, she schedules an appointment with a counselor and unknowingly commits herself to a psychiatric ward against her will. Sawyer eventually discovers an orderly, George Shaw (Joshua Leonard), working at the facility, but she is convinced that he is her previous stalker, David Strine, posing in this alternate identity to continue terrorizing her. Soderbergh was not the first filmmaker of note to experiment with iPhone cinematography, asSean Bakerbeat him to the punch in 2015 withTangerine. Soderbergh returned to the smartphone a year later withHigh Flying Bird, a drama set in the world of sports management for Netflix.
The iPhone Has a Startling Effect on ‘Unsane’
On the surface, the film, which follows a familiar but satisfactory premise for a horror picture, does not require avant-garde formalism. According to Soderberghin an interview for the film, shooting on a smartphone was not a last-ditch effort to comply with budget restraints, but rather, it was a creative decision.“This movie would be well served by my ability to put a lens anywhere I wanted in a matter of seconds,“he said, noting thatUnsanerequired a “physicality” that could only be captured by a mobile device. He identified that the visual aesthetic of iPhone imagerycreated a sense of intimacy with the character and story, as the look of photos and videos captured on an iPhone is ubiquitous. Soderbergh’s commentary crystalizes the practical nature of the iPhone cinematography. Because the film is voyeuristic in spirit,using a device that we all carry in our pockets is justifiable.As a result, the film never feels gimmicky or cheap.
‘Unsane’s Visuals Don’t Overpower the Movie
While never too obtrusive, the visual aesthetic is the driving force behindUnsane. Inside every location, the offices of Sawyer’s occupation, the halls of the ward, and the cells inside the facility, a voyeuristic sensation exists within each scene.There’s a feeling that you are invading Sawyer’s privacy, and because she is in an emotionally precarious state,this sentiment becomes more unnerving. This is particularly evident when Sawyer is placed in solitary confinement, as the iPhone photography evokes an eerie aura inside this nondescript room. The iPhone’s portability allows for Peter Andrews, a.k.a. Steven Soderbergh,to place the camera in tight windows and unconventional angles. The Kubrickian Steadicam shots bode well for iPhone cameras, which can smoothly glide through the halls of the facility. Generally speaking, the flatness of digital photography doesn’t hold a candle to the richness and depth of film, but digital’s pristine visual aesthetic complements the clinical setting ofUnsane.
Steven Soderbergh Abandoned This Movie After Realizing No One Would Want To See It
The acclaimed filmmaker was prepared to give a controversial historical figure the big screen treatment.
There is some cause for concern about the practicality of making contemporary films due to the omnipresence of smartphones in everyday life. Watching people text and look at digital screens is inherently uncinematic,with Soderbergh himself even statingthat phones were"the worst thing that’s ever happened to movies.“However, a film with insightful commentary on the digital world likeUnsanecan make the presence of smartphones an asset. David often stalks Sawyer digitally, as he calls her multiple times before she must block his number.
In a flashback, Sawyer seeks consultation from Detective Ferguson (played by the king of the cameo,Matt Damon, in one of his most inconspicuous appearances). Ferguson provides Sawyer with some harsh realities: if she wants to be protected from David, she must live an incognito life on social media. She needs to be paranoid about any photos being taken of her, as David is capable of tracking her whereabouts from one tagged post on Facebook or Instagram. Social media and paranoia ostensibly go hand-in-hand, with user privacy being a pressing issue with all the top platforms. By shooting the film on an iPhone,Soderbergh captures the feelingof being constantly spied on by an amorphous entity in the 21st century.
Claire Foy’s ‘Unsane’ Performance Is Mesmerizing
Beyond the distinct formalism ofUnsane, thefilm excels as an intense and chilling thriller.Carried on the shoulders of Claire Foy, it demonstrates the harrowing consequences of trauma and its impact on one’s emotional stability. Soderbergh treats this subject delicately while deploying it for visceral dramatic effect.Foy commands the screen at all times, whether she’s boldly standing her ground against the domineering facility or fearful of the impending threat of David’s psychological abuse. When Soderbergh broke out during theindependent cinema boom of the late ’80s and early ’90s, few would’ve imagined that he would pivot to the world of genre B-movies. To his credit, Soderbergh has never been fussy about his filmography. He brings an auteurist sensibility to pulpy crime films likeNo Sudden Moveand thrillers likeKimiwithout compromising their genre roots.
Certain Soderbergh touches, such as its astute casting, separateUnsanefrom the pact. Casting Joshua Leonard, the star of thebygone cultural relic inThe Blair Witch Project, as the antagonist is an intuitive reflection on the horror genre. Soderbergh loves reclaiming actors from the past that you may have forgotten about, such asAmy Irving, playing Sawyer’s mother, and he frequently deploys comedic talent to boost the story with a rush of levity and charm, withJay Pharoahfilling that role in this film. Of course, theultimate mark of a Steven Soderbergh filmis an abrupt Matt Damon cameo, which will make any viewer jump out of their seat in surprise. Upon release, most Soderbergh films are taken for granted. While this is a shame because he is one of our most curious filmmakers working today,it allows audiences to uncover a hidden gem likeUnsane.
Steven Soderbergh’s Returns to Horror With ‘Presence’
Image via Neon
Steven Soderbergh never stops working. Since he returned from his initial retirement ten years ago, he has released a new film every year and sometimes multiple in a calendar year. While 2024 saw zero Soderbergh theatrical releases, 2025 will experience a double dose of Soderbergh in a two-month span.Presence,which is currently in theaters,is a horror-thriller in the vein ofUnsane, which cemented the director’s chops as a master of lean, character-focused horror. In March, we are blessed with anotherSoderbergh crime thriller,Black Bag, a genre he can perfect in his sleep with his experience makingTrafficand the Ocean’strilogy. Although he’s prolific, Soderbergh’s films never feel rushed or haphazard. Rather, his minimalist approach and populist sensibilities complement an accessible formula. Not to mention, it helps when you have a mobile iPhone camera to set up shots quickly, as Soderbergh serves as his own cinematographer under the alias Peter Andrews. BothPresence and Black Bagare written byDavid Koepp, a staple of the thriller genre.
Even in his non-horror films, likeContagionandSide Effects, Soderbergh knows how to bring the chills.These two films precisely captured this era of Soderbergh, an efficient andsturdy genre filmmakerwho feeds the audiences its meat and potatoes.Presence, which follows a family becoming convinced they are not alone after moving into their new suburban home, sounds particularly rudimentary on paper, as countless horror films have mimicked this broad concept. The upcoming film, starringLucy LiuandJulia Foxand released by Neon, hints in its trailer that a phantom is lurking throughout the house, with the perspective being told through the phantom.
“Everything is revealed through the glimpses of this family that this presence sees,”Soderbergh toldVariety. “And the whole ghost genre element is a Trojan horse to show a group of people in danger of falling apart,” he continued, hinting at his knack for genre deconstruction evident in meditative docu-dramas likeErin Brockovich. This sentiment was also expressed inUnsane, as Claire Foy’s protagonist must overcome her own fears and paranoia before conquering the lingering threat around her. While it can be easy to dismiss, Soderbergh understands the artistic power of horror.At TIFF in 2024,Soderbergh argued that horror films are a perfect delivery vehicle for directors while adding that every film he’s made sinceCheis a genre picture to some degree.
Because Soderbergh’s style is so stripped-down as of late, it’s easy to think of him as visually inert,but his preference for digital photography and paranoid surveillance speaks to current-day anxieties. After all, the director is unafraid to make contemporary films despite his proclamationthat smartphones werethe “worst thing that’s ever happened to movies,” due to their deemed uncinematic nature. His evolution from an indie darling with weighty themes to amainstream tentpole filmmakerhas taken an unexpected turn back into smaller, more contained stories. At just 85 minutes,Presencepromises to be a genuinely scary and gripping time at the movies.Films likeUnsane,No Sudden Move, andKimidon’t aspire to be masterpieces, but each is the kind of movie one could watch every single day and never get bored.
