Throughout the history of cinema, numerous films have been met with derision upon release, only to find an appreciative audience years or even decades later. John Carpenter’s The Thing was largely viewed as a failure when it premiered in 1982, but has since gone on to be considered one of the greatest horror movies ever made. Ditto The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which went from box office flop to the longest-running movie of all time when programmers started screening it at midnight.
However, few films have transitioned from critical and audience disappointment to cult classic status quite as quickly as The Empty Man, the 2020 cosmic horror/conspiracy thriller mashup written and directed by David Prior, loosely based on the graphic novel by Cullen Bunn and Vanesa R. Del Rey. Premiering during one of the worst times of the COVID pandemic, it was met with largely underwhelming sales and reviews, but its fortunes quickly changed on streaming, with more than one critic labeling it one of the best horror movies in years.
‘The Empty Man’s Triumphant Reversal
Obviously, October 2020 was not a good time for the movie business in general, with COVID-19 at its most deadly and contagious. No movie really did well during that time, so The Empty Man‘s box office failure (making back nearly $5 million of its $16 million budget) needs to be taken with a pretty massive asterisk. But it’s not impossible to imagine the film would have struggled even during a more lucrative time. Distributor 20th Century Fox lost faith in the film’s prospects after some poorly received test screenings, quietly slipping it into theaters with little promotion.
Those who did venture out to see the movie largely agreed, with a handful of critics giving it mostly negative reviews. The trailer also did it no favors, making it seem like another creepypasta-inspired teenage spookshow, like The Bye Bye Man or Slender Man, both of which are very different movies than the one Prior actually made.
All this could have caused The Empty Man to fade into obscurity among underwhelming horror movies, but it did not. Less than a year after its disappointing theatrical showing, critics began to reevaluate the film, with many walking away pleasantly surprised by its storytelling ambition and confident direction. Critics like The Ringer’s Adam Nayman included it on their lists of the best horror movies of 2021, arguing that its conspiracy narrative was more effective in a home viewing setting, during a time when real-life conspiracies were running rampant. Within just a few months, a movie that was largely written off when it was released was already on its way to cult infamy.
Why ‘The Empty Man’ Deserves Its Cult Fame
The Empty Man is definitely an odd sort of horror movie, and likely wouldn’t appeal to everyone regardless of when or how it was released. With a running time of two hours and 17 minutes, it’s longer than most mainstream horror films, and its narrative goes to some decidedly unexpected places. The aforementioned teen boogeyman element is just one piece among many, as detective James Lasombra (James Badge Dale) investigates the disappearance of his friend’s daughter and its connection to the phrase “The Empty Man made me do it” scrawled in blood on her bathroom mirror.
His investigation leads him down a rabbit hole involving a local legend and its strange link to the Pontifex Institute. This mysterious cult-like organization claims to communicate with the titular Empty Man. And all this somehow ties into a seemingly unrelated prologue set in Bhutan over 20 years prior, where a group of hikers stumbles upon a disturbing, many-fingered skeleton that seems to awaken some kind of ancient evil. That’s just a very broad overview of the patchwork of elements that The Empty Man stitches together.
To some, it may sound like a total mess, but The Empty Man actually works. It has echoes of conspiracy thrillers, such as Blow Out, folk horror like The Wicker Man, and Lovecraftian cosmic horror in its DNA, combining its seemingly disparate genres in fascinating ways. It can feel a bit overstuffed at times, but it’s a unique viewing experience that isn’t afraid to take its story in some unexpected directions. This is due in large part to Prior’s confident hand, making his feature directorial debut after shooting making-of documentaries for films by David Fincher.
He excels at sustaining the film’s gloomy mood and escalating sense of dread. The prologue, in particular, stands out as a masterful piece of horror filmmaking in miniature. James Badge Dale makes for an appealing everyman to take the audience down this dark path, as his role in the whole saga is eventually revealed. Other actors, such as Marin Ireland as James’s neighbor, Nora, and Stephen Root as the cult’s leader, make a strong impression with their limited screen time.
To date, The Empty Man is Prior’s only feature film, though it left enough of an impression on Guillermo del Toro to get him invited to direct an episode of his 2022 Netflix anthology series Cabinet of Curiosities. Unfortunately, cult success doesn’t always translate to career opportunities, but hopefully Prior will get the chance to helm another feature someday soon. By then, perhaps the world will be more receptive to his unique approach to horror. The Empty Man is streaming on Hulu.
- Release Date
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October 23, 2020
- Runtime
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137 Minutes
- Director
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David Prior
- Writers
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David Prior, Cullen Bunn
