Presence: parents' guide
Best for ages 16 and up. Rated R for violence, drug material, language, sexuality and teen drinking.
A quiet, unsettling ghost story for older teens, filmed entirely from the point of view of a spirit in a family's new house. It's less about scares than about a teen girl grieving a friend who supposedly died of an overdose. Teens drink, eat pot brownies and are secretly drugged, a teen couple has sex (implied, out of focus), and the f-word is used about 50 times. In the climax a drugged girl is sexually menaced and nearly suffocated, and a fall kills two teenagers. Teens talk about depression and suicidal thoughts, and a subplot involves a classmate's nude photo being leaked. Best for 16 and up.
What's in it
Violence
StrongAfter his girlfriend turns down sex, a teen boy drugs her, menaces her sexually and tries to suffocate her with plastic wrap until he's stopped. Two teens crash through a window and fall to their deaths, bodies shown below. Past murders happen offscreen.
Language
StrongPlugged In counted about 50 f-words and nearly 25 s-words, plus a crude word for female genitals, a--, damn, hell, piss, misuse of God's and Jesus' names, and a middle finger.
Sex and nudity
ModerateTwo high schoolers have sex, filmed out of focus with moaning heard, and teens kiss, pull off shirts and caress. A teen girl appears in a towel, and a drawing shows a nude woman. No explicit nudity.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
StrongTeens drink liquor and eat pot brownies, a teen boy steals pills and spikes drinks, possibly with synthetic fentanyl, and characters discuss teens overdosing. Adults drink wine and whiskey, one is visibly drunk, and adults smoke.
Scary or intense scenes
ModerateMostly slow-building unease as an unseen presence moves objects and trashes a room, with a few sudden scares. The climax, where a boy brags about past murders while trying to kill a helpless drugged girl, is tense and cruel, and grief runs deep.
Sensitive topics
- Death of a child
- Overdose
- Sexual assault
- Suicide
- Bullying
Worth talking about
Ryan seems charming while quietly pressuring Chloe and spiking drinks. What warning signs do the people around them miss, and how can teens look out for each other?
On our lists
Similar picks around 16+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, the MPA, Wikipedia, bbfc.co.uk, cineparenting.com. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.