The Apparition

The Apparition

Year: 2012

Runtime: 82 min

Language: English

Director: Todd Lincoln

Budget: $17M

ThrillerHorror

A young couple, Kelly and Ben, find their lives disrupted when a sinister presence begins to torment them. This malevolent force originates from a failed parapsychology experiment they were involved with during their university years. The entity thrives on their fear, relentlessly pursuing them as they desperately try to escape. As the danger escalates, they must seek help before the unrelenting horror consumes them.

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The Apparition (2012) – Full Plot Summary & Ending Explained

Read the complete plot breakdown of The Apparition (2012), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.

On May 21, 1973, six people conduct The Charles Experiment, a parapsychological study in which they stare at a drawing of a deceased man, Charles Reamer, hoping to summon his spirit. Years later, four college students, Patrick Tom Felton, Lydia, Ben Sebastian Stan and Greg, attempt to recreate the experiment on a larger scale using modern technology. During the session, something malevolent attacks the group and pulls Lydia into the wall, vanishing from sight.

Sometime after, Ben and his girlfriend Kelly Ashley Greene are living together. They notice strange burn marks on their counters, doors left wide open, and a troubling mold outbreak spreading through the laundry room and crawlspace. Ben receives 36 “urgent” emails from Patrick that first inform him of a new attempt at the Charles Experiment, followed by a warning that “containment failed” and finally “you are in danger”.

After witnessing an apparition, the couple flee to a hotel, but they are attacked there as well. As they run, they reconnect with Patrick, who explains that the initial experiment allowed a malevolent entity to enter their world, and that he has built a room surrounded by a negative current that he believes protects him from it. They return to Kelly and Ben’s house to try a new containment experiment. During the session, the house shakes and breaks apart, then abruptly stops. While Kelly and Ben are outside, Patrick is pulled into the darkness and vanishes. Unable to find Patrick, they flee to the safety chamber in his house.

Inside the house, they hear Patrick’s personal log being played back, including information about the members of the original experiment. Of the original six, two died, one committed suicide and the other three disappeared. After entering the safety chamber, Ben disappears. Kelly exits the chamber and finds Ben’s contorted corpse. Patrick’s narration explains that the entity gets stronger with each person it claims, and that it will wear its victims down until they are too weak to resist.

With no escape, Kelly wanders around, and enters an empty Costco. She walks to the camping section, enters a tent and waits to be killed by the entity, having fully given up resisting. A number of hands appear from behind and the entity slowly grabs hold of her as the movie cuts to black.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 16:21

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Movies about fear-fueled entities like in The Apparition

Stories where supernatural beings gain power from human fear and despair.If you liked the concept in The Apparition of an entity that thrives on terror, you'll find similar movies here. These films explore supernatural or psychological horror where the antagonist is powered by fear itself, creating a uniquely oppressive and desperate atmosphere for the characters.

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The narrative typically follows a linear path of discovery and escalation. Characters become aware of a presence that grows stronger with their fear, turning their own psychological defenses into weapons against them. The story structure often focuses on the futility of resistance, culminating in a confrontation where conventional bravery is useless.

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These narratives follow a cause-and-effect structure where a past mistake or experiment unleashes a haunting. The characters' journey is not about winning, but about surviving an escalating siege until they are broken. The emotional arc is a downward spiral from normalcy into despair, with the ending confirming the absolute power of the supernatural antagonist.

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These films are united by a shared vibe of futility and a specific narrative pattern: a linear, steady-paced descent into supernatural terror that ends bleakly. The similarity lies in the overall emotional experience—a feeling of being crushed by an inevitable, superior force—rather than the specific details of the hauntings.

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Characters, Settings & Themes in The Apparition

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