Warning: This article contains SPOILERS ahead for Presence.Director Steven Soderbergh’s horror film Presence 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 latter is alive for most of the film until he sacrifices himself to save her from her serial killer boyfriend, Ryan, with his disorientated spirit being thrust back in time.

The twist concerning the film’s unseen enтιтy 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 idenтιтy of this supernatural character in Presence. From subtle actions to bits of dialogue, the details hidden throughout Presence that point to the ghost’s true idenтιтy are enough to warrant a second viewing.

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The Presence Travels Through Time

The Presence Doesn’t Experience Time Like The Living

One would ᴀssume that the Presence haunting the house in the film was someone who had died before Chloe and her family moved in. However, when the medium Lisa investigates the house, she explains that the Presence doesn’t see time like living humans do. She claims that the enтιтy is confused in its new state of being and that it can travel to the past or the future, not knowing which point in time is the present.

Lisa thus implies that the Presence is someone who hasn’t died yet at that point in the film. This also suggests that a member of Chloe’s family will eventually die and become the spirit lingering in their house. Lisa supports this theory when she returns to the house, telling Chris that the Presence is trying to prevent an event that hasn’t happened yet, implying it knows something about its future of origin.

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The Presence Wrecked Tyler’s Room

Tyler Took His Anger Out On Himself From Beyond The Grave

The enтιтy in Presence makes itself known to everyone in the house when it trashes Tyler’s room in front of them. This scene is initially portrayed as the ghost wreaking vengeance on Tyler after he sends an embarrᴀssing pH๏τo of a girl from his school on social media. However, after it is revealed that Tyler is the Presence, it makes even more sense that he wrecked his own room when he did.

Tyler seeing himself mistreat someone so badly would understandably generate quite a lot of self-loathing within him. ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Tyler may very well be taking out his anger toward himself on his belongings. While he could’ve done the same in any other room, he chose his room because everything inside was his, so he didn’t want to ruin anything in the house that didn’t belong to him.

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Chris Wants To See The Good Tyler

Chris Foreshadows Tyler’s Sacrifice In Presence

Tyler spends much of the film thinking only of himself and criticizing Chloe and her belief in ghosts, much to the disappointment of their father, Chris. After Tyler’s comments cause Chloe to storm off furious, Chris tells his son, “There is an excellent man inside of you, Tyler. I would like to meet him soon.” This piece of dialogue hints at the growth Tyler’s character will experience later in the film.

Surely enough, the story culminates in Tyler fighting off Ryan as he tries to murder Chloe, showing how much he really cares about his sister. Unfortunately, Chris isn’t able to see his son’s true colors. He’s absent when Tyler forces himself and Ryan out of the window, killing them both in an attempt to protect Chloe, rendering Tyler an invisible specter throughout his time haunting their house.

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The Presence Watches And Follows Chloe

The Presence Shows How Close It Is To Chloe

When Chloe first notices the Presence in the film, she ᴀssumes it is the spirit of her friend, Nadia, who died from an alleged drug overdose before the movie began. This seems to be the case as the Presence follows Chloe throughout the house, spying on her from inside her closet. It even cleans Chloe’s room while she’s in the shower, displaying its strong interest in her and hinting at their loving bond.

Someone like Nadia, who had a close relationship with Chloe, would understandably want to be near them again. On the other hand, it is just as likely that one of Chloe’s family members would be so attached to her, even as a ghost. Tyler is distant toward Chloe for most of the film while he is alive, but that only makes the twist of him being the Presence even more shocking.

While the Presence does watch Chloe for most of the film, when it sees her having Sєxual intercourse with Ryan, it looks away as if it’s uncomfortable watching this. Such a sight would be especially tough to watch for one of Chloe’s family members. Since Tyler is Chloe’s brother, it’s understandable that his spirit does not want to see this in Presence.

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The Presence Is Protective Of Chloe

The Presence Impeding Chloe And Ryan’s Relationship

Since Tyler is Chloe’s older brother, one would ᴀssume he would have a problem with Ryan having a Sєxual relationship with her, given that he hardly knows him. Though Tyler doesn’t seem to care much about Chloe at first, the Presence hints at it being his ghost when it gets in the way of Chloe and Ryan’s relationship. Specifically, Tyler’s spirit 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.

Likewise, just as Ryan displays his true intentions in the film, the Presence shows it is actually trying to protect Chloe from him. The ghost spills the drugged drink that Ryan tries to give Chloe when he first attempts to kill her. During Ryan’s final murder attempt at the end of Presence, the ghost wakes up Tyler to save Chloe’s life. Ironically, it is only when Tyler’s ghost drives his living self to his death that the latter shows he truly loves and cares about Chloe.