The Empty Man
The Empty Man (film)
| The Empty Man | |
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 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | David Prior |
| Produced by | |
| Screenplay by | David Prior |
| Based on | The Empty Man by
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| Starring | |
| Music by | |
| Cinematography | Anastos N. Michos |
| Edited by |
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Production company |
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| Distributed by | 20th Century Studios |
Release date |
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Running time | 137 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $3.8 million[2][3] |
The Empty Man is a 2020 American supernatural horror thriller film written, directed, and edited by David Prior, based on Cullen Bunn and Vanesa R. Del Rey's graphic novel of same name published by Boom! Studios. The film stars James Badge Dale, Marin Ireland, Stephen Root, Ron Canada, Robert Aramayo, Joel Courtney, and Sasha Frolova.
Originally filmed in August 2017, The film was theatrically released in the United States on October 23, 2020 by 20th Century Studios. It received a negative reception from both critics and audiences.
Plot[edit]
Ura Valley, Bhutan, 1995 – Four friends – Greg (Evan Jonigkeit), Paul (Aaron Poole), Fiona (Jessica Matten), and Ruthie (Virginia Kull) – are hiking on a mountain to reach a spot they have been searching for a while. A text reading “DAY ONE” appears. After he blows into what looks like a flute instrument, Paul then seems to hear something calling to him. He walks until he falls down a crevice. Greg goes in to rescue him and finds Paul sitting down facing a bizarre-looking skeleton while muttering something to himself. The skeleton appears to move slightly, but Greg gets Paul out in time. The friends carry Paul out and spot a nearby house with nobody in it, so they stay there for now.
On Day Two, Paul’s condition doesn’t appear to get better, as he is just lying around in silence. Outside, Ruthie appears to see a figure in the ongoing snowstorm. As she steps back, the figure matches her footsteps before starting to charge toward her, but she runs back inside the house and shuts the door. When she hears pounding outside, she continues to block the door until she hears Greg and Fiona. Ruthie asks them if they heard or saw anyone outside, but they deny it. As Ruthie is sleeping later, it appears as though Paul is whispering something in her ear.
Day Three – Greg, Fiona, and Ruthie bring Paul with them as they continue their hike in the area. Ruthie appears dazed until she takes out a knife and stabs Greg and Fiona, throwing their bodies over the edge of the cliff before she throws herself off, leaving Paul by himself while he simply blows into the flute instrument.
Jump to Missouri in 2018 where former detective James Lasombra (James Badge Dale) is working in a security store. He frequently hears a voice saying “Where were you?” since it has been a year after his wife Allison (Tanya van Graan) and son Henry died in a car accident. He frequently looks out for teenager Amanda Quail (Sasha Frolova), as he is friends with her mother Nora (Marin Ireland). Amanda hasn’t had a good relationship with Nora since her father passed away, so she looks to James as an alternate figure.
Amanda soon appears to have run away, and Nora calls James for help. They find a message on her mirror written in blood, “The Empty Man made me do it.” After official detectives take on the case, James decides to do a little investigation of his own.
James visits the high school to find Amanda’s friend Devara Walsh (Samantha Logan). She sits in his car and tells her about a couple nights ago when she and Amanda, plus friends Brandon (Joel Courtney), Julianne (Marijke Bezhuidenhout), Meyer (Connor Dowds), Lisa (Jamie-Lee Money), and Duncan (Owen Teague), were walking across the nearby bridge where Amanda decided to summon The Empty Man, an urban legend that takes three days to appear. On the first day, those who summon him will hear him calling to them. On the second day, he makes his presence known to them. On the third day, he finds them. The teens all blew into a bottle as per tradition. Devara also remembers seeing Amanda whispering in Brandon’s ear similar to how Paul whispered to Ruthie. Devara thinks she sees The Empty Man in the woods before she leaves James’s car.
Later that night, James goes by the bridge to continue looking into Amanda’s disappearance. He finds the bottle that they were using and he blows into it. James then walks down a ladder that leads underneath the bridge where he comes across the hanged corpses of Brandon, Julianne, Meyer, Lisa, and Duncan. The same message from Amanda’s mirror is also written. Meanwhile, Devara enters a spa, and when it is foggy enough, The Empty Man attacks, stabbing her with a pair of scissors but making it look like she was stabbing herself. It is officially ruled as a suicide, but James finds the circumstances too unnatural to be believable.
It is now Day One for James. He looks further into the origin of The Empty Man. He reads into a cult called the Pontifix Institute that has beliefs originating from places like Bhutan, which would explain how the four friends came across Empty Man there. James goes to the Institute’s location, where leader Arthur Parsons (Stephen Root) speaks before a whole crowd. Afterwards, he talks to James and references Empty Man, referring to him as an entity that provides his followers with what they desire as long as they do his bidding.
Day Two – James starts following people associated with the Institute. He is led to a hospital where an older Paul is sitting in a vegetative state, but the people entering his room appear to be bowing and chanting something to him. The other detectives chastise James for getting involved in the case when he is retired. He later visits Nora, who is still worried about her daughter. James asks her if Amanda knew about the two of them apparently being together, but Nora says no.
James is led into the woods where he finds what looks like the entire cult hooded like Empty Man, stepping toward him closer and closer before they chase him. James runs to his car and escapes from the cult.
On Day Three, James finds Amanda, who is acting under the influence of the cult and Empty Man. She explains to James that an “empty man” with nothing to lose or gain is the perfect vessel to project Empty Man’s messages. She starts repeating “Where were you?” to James, as he is forced to relive the trauma that has been haunting him. On the night that Allison and Henry were killed, he was engaging in an affair with Nora. He has since blamed himself for not being there to have prevented it.
James, now fully drained of his consciousness and humanity, goes into the hospital to Paul’s room. He unloads his gun into Paul’s head. The doctors and nurses, all members of the cult, look to James as their new Empty Man.
Cast[edit]
- James Badge Dale as James Lasombra[4]
- Marin Ireland as Nora Quail
- Stephen Root as Arthur Parsons
- Ron Canada as Detective Villiers
- Robert Aramayo as Garrett
- Joel Courtney as Brandon Maibum
- Sasha Frolova as Amanda Quail
- Samantha Logan as Davara Walsh
- Aaron Poole as Paul
- Adam Ferguson as Tulpa
- Owen Teague as Duncan West
- Evan Jonigkeit as Greg
- Tanya van Graan as Allison Lasombra
- Robert Coutts as The Empty Man
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
On February 9, 2016, it was announced that 20th Century Fox acquired the graphic novel The Empty Man from Boom! Studios for a feature film, with David Prior hired to write and direct the film.[5][6][7] The supernatural thriller film would be produced by Ross Richie and Stephen Christy.[5] On July 7, 2016, it was announced that James Badge Dale was cast in the lead role as an ex-cop plagued by the violent deaths of his wife and son, who tries to find a missing girl.[4][8] On September 27, 2016, it was announced that Aaron Poole was cast in the film to play Paul, an outdoorsy adventurer.[9][10]
Filming[edit]
Principal photography of the film began on August 31, 2017 in Edwardsville, Illinois, where some filming was done at the Madison County courthouse.[11][12] Filming also took place at the Chain of Rocks Bridge and moved to another undisclosed location after three days.[13]
Release[edit]
The Empty Man was theatrically released on October 23, 2020, by 20th Century Studios.[14] The film was originally scheduled for release on August 7, 2020, but was delayed to December 4 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, before being moved up to the October date following the shifting of Death on the Nile.[15][16]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
The Empty Man grossed $1.3 million from 2,027 theaters in its opening weekend, finishing fourth at the box office. 53% of the audience was male, with 53% also being over the age of 25. Analysts blamed the film's low box office on a lack of marketing, with social media analytics corporation RelishMix saying: "The campaign on social for 20th's The Empty Man dropped just one week ago on [October] 16. Any normal campaign for an indie, one-off high concept or awards contender will obviously drop at least two months out — at the latest."[17] The film fell 57% in its second weekend to $561,000, then made $294,350 in its third.[18]
Critical response[edit]
The Empty Man was not screened in advance for critics.[19] On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 33% based on nine reviews, with an average rating of 3.9/10. The site's critics consensus simply reads: "Not scary."[20] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "D+" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported 42% of audience members gave the film a positive score, with "an awful" 25% saying they would definitely recommend it.[17][21] The criticism was aimed at the script, plot, characters, performances, and runtime.
Barry Hertz of The Globe and Mail gave the film 2/4, writing: "Producers couldn't have picked a better title, though. After I left my Friday afternoon screening, attended by a whopping two other people, I felt far from satisfied. Empty, you might say."[19] Writing for The Only Critic, Nate Adams gave it a "D−", summarizing that "running an overlong two hours and twenty minutes, The Empty Man – probably the bastard cousin twice removed from The Bye Bye Man or Slender Man, not good company – is a total bore".[22]
Michael Gingold of Rue Morgue gave the film a positive review, saying its "not at all the movie that its trailers are selling, and in this case, that's a good thing".[1]
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