Movies

The Empty Man

That might have saved this movie from just getting dumped on. It has all the vibes of a film student horror movie, trying to make their way through it with a heady ending that either negates the entire movie, or clicks like a light bulb depending on how you saw the movie.

Garrett

Oct 3, 2026 — 3 min read

Synopsis

A former police officer helps his friend find her daughter, only to find that her daughter isn't missing.

Review

I had never heard of this movie. If it weren't for James Badge Dale, who plays Roan in 13 Hours, I'd have never watched it. This movie released in Oct of 2020 when much of the US was still in a haphazard lockdown and no one was going to the movies. At least not to see a movie with almost zero marketing.

And that might have saved this movie from just getting dumped on. It has all the vibes of a film student horror movie, trying to make their way through it with a heady ending that either negates the entire movie, or clicks like a light bulb depending on how you saw the movie.

What this movie does very well is this since of creep throughout the movie. The music and tones that is used has these minor notes that rub you the wrong way. Add that with a vignette to make the background always a bit darker than the subject and you have this sense of someone lurking in the background, which does match the movie.

The story is interesting. Following the world's obsession with Slender man, urban myth's have really taken over. This one is an interesting tie end between urban legends, cults, and some mythical monster lore.

My Rating

The ending killed me. I wanted the ending to have a greater weight than what it had. It frustrated me more because I felt like it was more metaphysical and heady than worthwhile, so I have to watch that frustration when reviewing this. I really enjoyed the creepy feeling of this movie. It made me so interested in what was going to happen next. There is one scene where James does what all horror movie people should do and just "nopes" out, which is exactly what most people in horror movies should do. I wanted to give this a 6, but without the end and my maybe my overly aggressive frustration with it, this is an 8. So average it to a 7?

Parental Rating

Language, a covered sex scene, and some graphic deaths. Plus the nature of cosmic horror isn't really their vibe. The violence and death isn't graphic like Pearl or Obsession, but it isn't nice. So with that, plus the death scenes and language, this is an easy rejected by both.