The case of The Empty Man is very, very curious. The film navigates back and forth through several subgenres while staying in a general specter of horror, and it doesn’t do much with its final result. At the end, you feel like the film is a glorious attempt at something not polished in the favor of a logical story. What was the purpose?

Films should not require further investigation. Of course, we welcome any expansion of a complete presentation if it actually embellishes the experience towards something worthy. However, with The Empty Man you cannot identify the most important path. The film is a mixture of “urban legends”, “teenage horror”, “ancient folklore”, and “mischief of modern cults”. It was impossible to do something out of a messy soup with so much ingredients.

This is a film with a running time of 137 minutes, something extremely rare with big studio genre films. Much less with horror. Nevertheless, there’s something that works in The Empty Man: the feeling of a larger and relevant story trying to be unfolded. It’s an interesting premise hidden behind an ambitious adaptation.

A fantastic presentation, a dull follow up
There’s an initial film in The Empty Man. It’s considerably long and you will almost ask yourself if you are certain that you are watching the right movie. This exploration of folklore and panic in a remote area is wonderful but misused. It’s a false beginning.

The second time the film starts, an ex-cop is investigating the disappearance of a girl he knew. Their relationship has been forged after he lost his own family in a tragic event. He goes deeper in the investigation and notices a strange relationship between the girl’s disappearance, a strange cult and an urban legend. The film progresses as the man starts uncovering the facts behind a strange organization that may have something to do with the girl being missing.

It’s a poor summary of a movie with false endings, and an overlong and twisted second act. The Empty Man is a collection of possibilities and they all could work if only they could be developed into something with structure. It doesn’t mean it’s not a tiresome movie.

Is there a main theme?
There is a theme that sums it all up in the end. It’s a resolution that not everyone will understand and will leave some unsatisfied.

I actually kind of liked the direction the movie took and gave away myself to the power of its mystery. I usually ask too much with these movies and this time, I felt it was unnecessary to keep exploring the possibilities. But yes, there’s a lot of stuffing that could be removed and the film would still work for its specific target.

A somehow interesting case of horror
Please watch The Empty Man and have your opinion. We never find horror movies that go longer than the traditional “studio demanding” running time. The film is a like a bible with proposals and not much resolution, but you will get something, and that something is interesting. At the very least, you will google the film and read about some of the wildest theories about it.

HITS:

• Production value that shows studios interest in horror.
• The backdrop is very interesting, even if you have to do some digging to understand it. 

MISSES:

• The unnecessary and not very well used running time.
• The third act feels too  rushed.