A Ghost’s Purpose: Presence Review + Breakdown

By: Myriam Akbar

Presence is a 2024 supernatural horror/drama film, following the lives of an American family navigating life with primarily relatable issues. However, it was released in theaters this year. Straying away from jump-scares and scary visual imagery, the tension is created through conceptual interpretations of fear. Artistically demonstrating Athazagoraphobia (the fear of being forgotten or ignored), the ghost takes the audience on a touching and intense journey as they search for purpose. While this film is receiving mixed reviews, I was impressed by the innovative nature of it and look forward to what else the year brings. In my opinion, it’s the most inventive and introspective ghost story since His House (2020) which is criminally underrated. 

Spoilers ahead..

Although we see the characters interact in present time, the film is shot from the POV of the ghost and explores different realms of time. One way I can describe it is that the viewer feels like a camera in the house, following the movements and experiences of the characters. The entity focuses primarily on Chloe, who is grieving the loss of a friend that she believes is haunting her. The ghost fixes up her room, straightening her school books. It watches her from the closet. Being similar to Insidious in several ways, the plot involves the way the family deals with this supernatural ordeal. Like many, the parents face marital struggles and the siblings have a hard time getting along. Chloe’s older brother Tyler is not afraid to flaunt his misogyny and narcissism, often mistreating her. He strives to fit in with the “cool” crowd at school, including an essential character named Ryan.

Initially thrown off by the inclusion of this seemingly random jock, I quickly learned his role and purpose within the film. He starts secretly dating Chloe and the audience is shown that he has been manipulating and drugging her. After mixing pills into a glass of juice, he attempts to get her to drink it but the ghost knocks it over. She believes the ghost is her friend Nadia, which I thought it was as well because it made sense considering she died from an overdose. I wasn’t expecting a twist and unlike some viewers, I really enjoyed the ghost’s identity reveal. 

The family eventually calls in help from a medium, who provides them with clues to the identity of the ghost. This is the most important part of the film in terms of predicting the ghost or making sense of it afterwards. She says that the entity could be from any place in time and is unsure about their purpose. However, they’re present because of a future event that will take place involving a window. I was both intrigued and perplexed by the complexity of these details, drawing me back into the film. I was taken out a bit by some of the drama aspects of the film, as well as the off-putting dialogue and insufferable characters (Rebecca, Tyler, and Ryan). On the other hand, the ending of the film made these choices seem intentional and effective. The siblings’ parents go out of town and the events that take place result in the real villain being exposed. To my surprise, the ghost isn’t the villain – but actually the hero. After sedating Tyler, Ryan pays a visit to Chloe who wants to end things. He manipulates her into drinking and “just talking” with him. She chugs the entire drink and becomes unconscious. He disgustingly describes what he gets out of drugging and date-rape, creating a chilling and traumatizing experience for me as a viewer. The ghost wakes Tyler up, who runs to the room and tackles him out the window – killing them both. I distinctly remember my reaction. I felt pure shock, then satisfaction, and lastly sadness for whichever character finds the bodies. This plot twist worked for some fans and didn’t work for others. Tyler was the presence the entire time. He traveled to the past to save his sister. I thought it was brilliant. 

My main criticism is that some of the dialogue is distracting and the forgettable acting performances make it feel like a low budget film. On the other hand, the intimate nature of the film literally puts the audience in the middle of a family’s everyday life. This may be the reason for the dialogue and acting — an attempt to feel as real as possible. I also didn’t see a trigger warning, which I feel it definitely needs for the portrayal of date-rape. The length of the most explicit scene builds tension but could have been shorter in my opinion.

Despite those negative points, I think Presence is a great addition to the supernatural horror sub-genre. Some have debated that the film isn’t horror; however, I strongly disagree because it explores fear and it can be multi-genre (horror and drama). The ghost isn’t the fear demonstrated, but a look into the fears a ghost has. This is one of the reasons why the audience isn’t shown the ghost until the end. The strategy of creating fear doesn’t rely on terrifying visual imagery, but the definition itself which is an unpleasant feeling that danger is near. Sound familiar? 

A Ghost Searching For Purpose 

I didn’t go into the theater with the goal of solving a mystery and for no particular reason. As I watched, I didn’t think: WHO is the ghost? I was focused on WHAT is the ghost experiencing? WHAT is it like to be a ghost ? As someone who had Athazagoraphobia as a child, I’ve thought about this many times. As a ghost, I imagined I would watch my family members grow up and move on with life. I think I would feel lonely and confused about my purpose still lingering around. With limited “power,” I would want nothing more than to save my loved ones from harm's way if I could see it coming. This is the experience for Tyler. 

Within the belief that a ghost is a human who has died yet still remains, many assume that their state is lifeless and immobile. This film (like to Insidious) illustrates how not only can spirits interfere with our sense of reality (moving objects for example), they can have intentions and desires as well. Some insidious, some not. Presence gives a unique view of a ghost as we see Tyler experience those very feelings. Moving around, just watching his family. Fixing up his sister’s room. Watching out for her in the most literal sense. In this case, the ghost is regretful about his behavior while alive (particularly his mistreatment towards his sister). He experiences fear because he knows danger is near and that it involves his sister’s bedroom window. This created an anxiety inducing experience for me because I had a sense that the ghost had limited access to “reality” and was on a mission. I think the most human aspect of his experience is the fear of having very little ability to make up for the past. Although Tyler was able to save his sister, he wasn’t able to become the man that his father claims he knew he could be. 

Why Chloe? 

The film discusses the ability to sense when a spirit is around, as Chris attempts to understand his daughter and provide support. The details surrounding the loss of Chloe’s friend, matched with feedback from the medium suggests trauma has given her the ability to access the spirit realm. This could very well be the case; however, it’s hard to believe neither parent has experienced trauma in their lifetime. While Rebecca and Tyler appear to think the haunting is mostly ridiculous and an inconvenience, Chris can sense the energy that Chloe does just enough to show compassion towards her. I think this is key in understanding why she has the ability to access the spirit realm in comparison to the others – she possesses emotional intelligence, intuition, and empathy. These attributes provide her with the gift, shown through the shared understanding between her and her dad. On more than one occasion he demonstrates that he’s a caring and loving father. While Rebecca’s mysterious background is not explained, her disinterest in her daughter’s life and general dismissive attitude shows that she lacks what Chloe possesses. 

My favorite thing about Presence is how it uses a common (and possibly overdone) setting -- a haunted house, to tell a story about intention, compassion, and redemption. The clever use of time and perspective make for a complex supernatural cinematic experience.

Photo Cred: Wikipedia.com