On the trail of a missing girl, an ex-cop comes across a secretive group attempting to summon a terrifying supernatural entity.On the trail of a missing girl, an ex-cop comes across a secretive group attempting to summon a terrifying supernatural entity.On the trail of a missing girl, an ex-cop comes across a secretive group attempting to summon a terrifying supernatural entity.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
Robert Coutts
- The Entity
- (as Rob Coutts)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen James first enters the Pontifex Institute, the camera lingers on a painting in the hallway. The painting shows the cabin in which the four hikers shelter at the start of the film.
- GoofsThe film is set in the US but was largely shot in South Africa and the overseas shooting is inadvertently revealed when the protagonist looks at a blank VHS tape. It's an E-180; videotapes of that format sold in America began with "T" like in T-120.
- Quotes
James Lasombra: Yeah, no.
- Crazy creditsThe 20th Century Fox logo makes a surprise return in the opening of the film.
- ConnectionsFeatured in FoundFlix: The Empty Man (2020) Explained (2021)
- SoundtracksImmersion
Written by Brian Williams (as B. Lustmord)
Featured review
A surreal & haunting supernatural horror that's steeped in myth & smeared with pure cosmic dread, The Empty Man is an ingeniously layered & gradually escalating nightmare that ranks amongst the most audacious horror entries in recent years. Invoking an ominous atmosphere from its opening moments and ratcheting up the suspense with terrific use of genre elements, it's a shame that this gem flew under the radar last year.
Written & directed by David Prior in his feature film debut, the film opens with a neatly crafted & downright effective prologue that paves a strong enough foundation for its main story. Prior takes his time with the premise and allows the foreboding aura to envelop the surroundings in a natural fashion and doesn't hurry through the proceedings. Its consistent scares, unsettling vibe, occult elements & existential themes further amplify our interest in it.
Adding more sinister touches to the viewing experience are its clinical camerawork, brooding score, eerie sound design, methodical editing, arresting mythology & disturbing imagery. The first half of the film is top-notch storytelling. It is in the remaining half that it begins to falter a bit and becomes entangled in its own ideas. Performances are convincing, with James Badge Dale aptly articulating his character's confusion, fear & uncertainty about his own reality.
Overall, The Empty Man brims with a menacing quality, is unrelenting in its intensity, and has all the makings of a cult classic, something it is destined to become in the years to come. An impressive start to David Prior's feature filmmaking career, his debut feature exhibits his firm grip on elements of horror & mystery and is anything but an empty cinematic experience. It's the studio's fault that they couldn't figure out how to market this ambitious ontological terror but sooner or later, The Empty Man will find its audience.
Written & directed by David Prior in his feature film debut, the film opens with a neatly crafted & downright effective prologue that paves a strong enough foundation for its main story. Prior takes his time with the premise and allows the foreboding aura to envelop the surroundings in a natural fashion and doesn't hurry through the proceedings. Its consistent scares, unsettling vibe, occult elements & existential themes further amplify our interest in it.
Adding more sinister touches to the viewing experience are its clinical camerawork, brooding score, eerie sound design, methodical editing, arresting mythology & disturbing imagery. The first half of the film is top-notch storytelling. It is in the remaining half that it begins to falter a bit and becomes entangled in its own ideas. Performances are convincing, with James Badge Dale aptly articulating his character's confusion, fear & uncertainty about his own reality.
Overall, The Empty Man brims with a menacing quality, is unrelenting in its intensity, and has all the makings of a cult classic, something it is destined to become in the years to come. An impressive start to David Prior's feature filmmaking career, his debut feature exhibits his firm grip on elements of horror & mystery and is anything but an empty cinematic experience. It's the studio's fault that they couldn't figure out how to market this ambitious ontological terror but sooner or later, The Empty Man will find its audience.
- CinemaClown
- Jul 29, 2021
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Empty Man: El mensajero del último día
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,992,948
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $1,310,326
- Oct 25, 2020
- Gross worldwide
- $4,796,993
- Runtime2 hours 17 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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