Warning: This article contains SPOILERS ahead for Presence. Director Steven Soderbergh’s horror film presents a unique take on the haunted house subgenre by presenting the story through the ghost’s point of view. However, the ending to Presence presents an even greater twist with the revelation that the spirit haunting Chloe’s house is her brother Tyler.
The twist concerning the film’s unseen entity is enough to make one rethink what they saw earlier in Steven Soderbergh’s Presence. Though the truth seems to come out of nowhere, several little details scattered throughout the film hint at the identity of this supernatural character.
The Presence doesn’t experience time like the living, and it can travel to the past or the future, not knowing which point in time is the present. This suggests that the entity is someone who hasn’t died yet at that point in the film. Lisa, the medium, implies that the Presence is trying to prevent an event that hasn’t happened yet, implying it knows something about its future of origin.
One of the key hints at the identity of the Presence is the fact that it wrecked Tyler’s room. Tyler, who is eventually revealed to be the Presence, took his anger out on himself from beyond the grave. The film also shows that the Presence cleaned Chloe’s room while she was in the shower, displaying its strong interest in her and hinting at their loving bond.
The Presence is also protective of Chloe, impeding her relationship with Ryan. In the film, the ghost knocks a shelf down in Chloe’s room just as she and Ryan are about to get intimate for the first time, interrupting their romantic encounter. The ghost also shows it is trying to protect Chloe from Ryan by spilling the drugged drink that Ryan tries to give her when he first attempts to kill her. During Ryan’s final murder attempt at the end of the film, the ghost wakes up Tyler to save Chloe’s life, revealing its true intention.
The twist that the Presence is actually Tyler’s ghost who sacrificed himself to save Chloe from Ryan, and then became lost in time, is a shocking revelation. However, it is foreshadowed throughout the film through the subtle actions and dialogue of the characters.