The Empty Man (2020)
Genre: Horror / Mystery
Duration: 137 minuten
Country:
United States / France
Directed by: David Prior
Stars: James Badge Dale, Marin Ireland and Sasha Frolova
IMDb score:
6,2 (50.037)
Releasedate: 22 October 2020
The Empty Man plot
"The first night you hear him. The second night you see him. The third night he finds you."
Ex-cop James Lasombra investigates the disappearance of Amanda Quail, the daughter of an acquaintance. Amanda left a message written in blood in her bedroom with a reference to "The Empty Man", a supernatural entity that you could summon by blowing on a bottle in the dark. This prompts James on a quest that reveals shocking secrets.
Actors and actresses
James Lasombra
Nora Quail
Amanda Quail
Davara Walsh
Greg
Ruthie
Garrett
Detective Villiers
Fiona
Paul
Reviews & comments
james_cameron
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- 7187 messages
- 9926 votes
Uncomfortable thriller with horror elements; with two hours and fifteen minutes on the (too) long side but in any case intriguing and exciting. The film's structure is also quite ambitious; after the more or less standard horror-like structure of the first hour, the film becomes quite bizarre and alienating in the second half. Well made and played, with a great lead role for James Badge Dale, an actor who usually doesn't stand out but always does a good job.
Translated from Dutch · View original
mrklm
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- 12190 messages
- 10362 votes
Former undercover cop James [James Badge Dale] decides to find out on his own what happened to Amanda [Sasha Frolova], the daughter of a close friend [Marin Ireland]. Amanda has disappeared without a trace after leaving a mysterious message about "Empty Man" in the bathroom. James soon discovers a connection to a myth that finding an empty bottle on a bridge and blowing on it will make contact with 'Empty Man'. What is true of this myth? Where has Amanda gone? And what is the Pontiflex Institute's role in all this? On paper, this looks like a rip-off of Candyman, but Prior's screenplay – loosely based on Boom! Studios – is much more complex and (luckily) seems to have drawn more inspiration from The Wicker Man (the original that is). Starts with a strong 20-minute prologue and manages to maintain the terrifying tone that has been set with it. Excellent atmospheric horror with an engaging main character keeps the attention despite a lot of floating chatter (which I, like James, could barely tie a rope to) and builds the tension and expectations considerably. It is therefore quite a disappointment that the finale is so pompous and that Prior believes he has to answer all open questions.
Translated from Dutch · View original
as
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- 3548 messages
- 5932 votes
What a ridiculously low score. Very nice atmospheric and exciting slow burner of a horror film. A lot better than the (teenage) disposable horror of the last few years. Unbelievably tragic that this movie got 'lost' during Disney's takeover of 20th Century Fox. The devil will play with it…
The first 20 minutes (before a title has even appeared) are even fantastically exciting and then the rest has yet to begin. What follows is the decline of a man who searches for answers in a twilight world that is not being. Director Prior sometimes knows how to shape that fantastically. Very cool editing tricks and transitions from one scene to another. The atmosphere also sometimes looks a bit Lynchian and director Prior has also looked closely at image compositions by people like Cronenberg and Fincher. And that sound design/score is sometimes goosebumps.
The Empty Man doesn't give the easy answers and feels like an odd duck. But in the current 'safe' movie climate this is really a relief. Maybe it doesn't all work 100% and the film is indeed a bit too long. But The Empty Man dares to aim big and largely succeeds in doing so.
Thick 4 * and
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