What actually happens
A realtor who forgot one detail
The movie starts with an unseen Presence moving through an empty, dark suburban house. A realtor, Cece, shows the place to Rebekah and Chris Payne and their teenagers, Tyler and Chloe. Rebekah and Chris talk about how the move will affect Tyler, who is expected to do well on the swim team at his new school, and Chloe, who is still shaken by a traumatic event. Chloe explores the house while the Presence follows her. A work crew renovates, and some of the workers seem to sense something. After the family moves in, Rebekah takes a phone call that hints she is mixed up in financial crimes, and she later explains her reasoning to Tyler. Chloe cries in her room, feels the Presence and says the name of Nadia, a friend who recently died. Chris worries about Chloe while Rebekah stays distant, and Rebekah plainly favors Tyler. Chris asks a lawyer friend whether a legal separation would protect him if his wife were found to have committed a crime.
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The ghost closes a door and the family argues anyway
Tyler's new friend Ryan visits, and Tyler introduces him to Chloe. Ryan steals drugs from his father, a pharmacist, and he and Tyler talk about getting some for a party. The Presence shuts Chloe's door to keep her out of that conversation. Chloe and Ryan get closer, use drugs together and talk about her grief over Nadia and another girl. They start to kiss, and the Presence knocks a shelf over. At dinner Chloe says she has been sensing something, Tyler mocks her, and he accuses Chris of always taking Chloe's side. Tyler casually tells Rebekah how he and his friends tricked a classmate into sending a nude photo. Rebekah laughs it off until Chloe shows them the photo on her phone and says Tyler leaked it online. The Presence wrecks Tyler's room while the family watches. The family gathers outside, where Chloe insists the poltergeist is Nadia and harmless. Cece assures Chris that the house has had no deaths, a fact she would be legally required to mention, and sends him to Lisa, a psychic medium and her sister-in-law. Lisa says the Presence means no harm and may be experiencing time out of order.
Ryan keeps bringing drinks
Chloe and Ryan have sex, and afterward Ryan secretly puts something in her drink. The Presence spills it before she can drink it. Chris tells Chloe that he believes her and will always support her. Lisa comes back and warns Chris that the Presence may be there to stop something that has not happened yet. After that, the Presence is less able to move things around. Chris admits to Rebekah that he thought about divorce, they make up, and they leave for a business trip. Tyler, drunk, seems to sense the Presence, but Ryan arrives and distracts him. Ryan drugs Tyler's drink, and Tyler passes out in the living room. Ryan then carries another spiked drink up to Chloe.
The plastic wrap scene
Chloe tells Ryan she does not want to have sex, but he pressures her into drinking the spiked drink, and it leaves her helpless. Near the end, he starts suffocating her with plastic wrap and brags that Nadia and the other girl went the same way and that he staged both as overdoses. The Presence cannot stop him directly, so it goes downstairs and tries to wake Tyler. Tyler can barely move, but he recovers enough to run upstairs, where he tackles Ryan. The two of them go through Chloe's bedroom window together, and neither survives the fall. This is the scene people brace for, and it comes near the end.
The ending, explained
Ryan and Tyler both die when they fall through the window, and Chloe survives. Some time later, as the family is getting ready to move out, Rebekah feels the Presence nearby and trails it to a living room mirror. She sees Tyler in the reflection and realizes that his spirit was displaced in time and came back to save his sister. Chris and Chloe move close to her as the Presence leaves the house and rises into the sky.
The post-credits ruling
There is no post-credits scene. You can leave when the credits start.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: fine, no dog dies.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is Presence scary?
Barely. Presence is a 3 out of 10 with medium dread and no jump scares. The ghost means no harm, and the upsetting parts come from the people in the house.
How does Presence end?
Tyler tackles Ryan, and both fall to their deaths through Chloe's window after Ryan tries to suffocate her. Rebekah then sees Tyler in a mirror and realizes that the Presence was him.
Does the dog die in Presence?
No dog dies in Presence, and no other animal dies either.
Is there a post-credits scene in Presence?
No. Presence has no post-credits scene, so you can leave when the credits start.
Who is the Presence in Presence?
It is Tyler's spirit. Lisa suggests the ghost may experience time out of order, and Rebekah sees Tyler in a mirror at the end and realizes he came back to save Chloe.
