Presence is a Tragic Ghost Story with a Shocking Twist of Fate
Credit to Presence | Official Trailer — Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan, Julia Fox | Watch
I was not expecting Presence to be viewed through the point of view of a ghost. This was a genius idea, and it set the tone for the movie! I assumed the film was going to be terrifying, but I was surprised to learn it was actually going to be a tragic story!
The trailer did an excellent job keeping me in suspense, and I loved how I found myself studying every single frame, wondering what the hell the movie was about.
Now, here is the plot to Presence.
Warning: Major spoilers for the film, because it does feature one of the best shocking endings in a horror movie, so…if you wanna watch it, please turn back now!!!
Presence begins with a family of four moving into a new home.
Credit to Presence Review — A Supernatural Stunner with a Spiritless Script — Screen Love Affair
A girl named Chloe and her family move into a new home in the beginning of the film. We notice right away that something is off with the family. Chloe appears to be experiencing a heavy loss, due to the death of her best friend and another girl from her high school.
When it comes to her family, they each have a different reaction to Chloe’s struggle to move on.
Her mother insists that Chloe needs time and is always shrugging off her concern for her daughter.
Her brother, Tyler is acting like a major jerk to her, not seeming to care about what she is going through.
Only her father cares about what she is experiencing, and he is the only one who stands up for her in this family that is slowly falling apart.
Even her boyfriend, Ryan, that Tyler befriends in school has a heart for what she is going through.
It’s a terrible situation, and it only becomes worse when Chloe realizes that something is in their home.
The family becomes aware of Chloe’s beliefs when the presence makes itself known in the family home.
Credit to First Trailer Released for Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Presence’
During a discussion of Tyler revealing to his family that he took part in bullying a girl, leading to the realization that this embarrassing moment ended up on social media, the presence immediately makes itself known.
It trashes Tyler’s bedroom, leaving a huge mess in its wake. The family freaks out over this, and the father contacts the realtor to ask if someone died in their home. The realtor sends a friend of hers to their residence, a medium that will figure out what is going on in their home.
The medium feels the presence right away, and she reveals to the family that the mirror built into the fireplace mantel is a sort of gateway to see into the spiritual world. She also tells the family that the presence is here for a reason, and could be trapped in a sort of time loop, confusing the past with the present.
Not surprisingly, the mother and Tyler dismiss the medium, but Chloe and her father don’t. In a heartwarming scene, Chloe’s father tells her that because of what he went through in his past life, he believes that his daughter has a gift when it comes to the supernatural.
The father was a great character, I got so annoyed with the mom and brother in the movie. How could they dismiss something so bizarre??
The medium comes back later, to warn the father that something bad is going to happen with a window. He politely asks her to leave, because he doesn’t want his family to hear her claims.
What happens next was a shocking turn of events.
Chloe’s boyfriend killed her best friend.
Ryan, Chloe’s boyfriend, turned out to be a total monster. In the middle of the film, he had attempted to drug Chloe, but the intention was never revealed why, because the presence puts a stop to this action by knocking over Chloe’s drugged drink.
Ryan returns back to the house once he learns from Chloe that her and Tyler are going to have the house to themselves. He drugs Tyler, and then goes upstairs to give the next drugged drink to Chloe.
She refuses to partake in hanging out with Ryan when she realizes that he made sure Tyler wouldn’t interrupt them. After some manipulation tactics by Ryan, she gives in to the drink, not knowing it’s drugged as well.
When Chloe passes out, Ryan mocks her weak state, telling her that he was the one who killed her best friend. He had made her death look like a drug overdose, and he proceeds to suffocate Chloe.
The presence goes into a panic state, and decides to wake Tyler. He awakens, and runs upstairs to save his sister. Tyler tackles Ryan, but they both end up falling through her bedroom window.
The presence looks down and finds Ryan and Tyler dead.
My jaw dropped in this scene. I kept expecting Chloe to die, but the death went to her brother instead…what an insane twist!
The movie ends with the family moving out of the home.
Credit to ‘Presence’ Ending Explained: Who Is the Ghost Haunting the Family?
Chloe, and her parents are now moving out once again, due to the death of Tyler. The mother is in a shocked state, as she watches Chloe and her father interacting outside. The mother hears a noise, and follows it toward the mirror. She screams and cries when she sees Tyler in the mirror.
She collapses, as Chloe and her father comfort her.
The presence leaves the house, and we slowly watch as the presence descends into heaven.
This is an excellent ghost story.
The storyline continued to go down a tough path, as we followed the hinted downfall of the family. I loved how the film kept on making us believe that Chloe would die.
Since her best friend had died, I had assumed that Chloe would follow. It took her brother to break the cycle of Ryan’s killing spree, and he gave up his life to save her.
Side note: I noticed something awesome that the director did for the death scene. When it cut to the bodies on the ground, Ryan was face down on the ground, while Tyler was facing upward.
I think this was a sort of symbolism hinting that Ryan went to Hell, and Tyler went to Heaven. I thought it was a clever trick!
I truly believe that the presence was Tyler. It made a lot of sense, since the ghost kept on hiding in Chloe’s room, almost like he was watching over her. Perhaps his presence was his future self, and he was desperately trying to save his sister.
Presence is a tragic tale, told through the lens of a ghost that watches over a family, as they try to overcome their grief, not knowing that more loss is waiting for them.
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