"The Empty Man" is way better compared to the average horror movie that is released nowadays. It has a lot of good ideas, that unfortunately could not be properly developed. The result is an extremely disjointed film, that does not know what to achieve.
The intro lasts more than 20 minutes, which is quite a long time, and does not connect to the main plot until the very last minutes, so why even bother to create such a complex storyline, if it is not used more during the movie? James Lasombra, the main character is an ex cop, that experienced a big trauma and tries to cope with it. I really liked the slow burner approach, as we discover his story, building a lot of suspense and tension. This kept me glued to the screen until the very end. I really enjoyed the idea of the cult, able to summon the Empty Man, but it is not properly established: how this organization managed to call this demon? What is their story? Do they have something to do with all the deaths shown? Because nothing of this is explained, by the end I had more questions than answers. They should have developed more this aspect, because it feels that there are missing pieces. In defense of the movie I have to say that I liked the beginning and the middle sections. How the mistery is developed, the investigation around murders that unveils little by little really dark and sick secrets.
From a mere technical perspective this is a piece of art. There are no cheap jumps scares, which is good, as I am really tired of this useless technique. How the tension is built with subtle and extremely effective noises. Whoever handled camera movements, photography and lighting just nailed it. It was a while that I was not watching a horror shot in this way, with a magnificent sound design and soundtrack. Special effects are amazing and they feel realistic. Hollywood should really take some notes and release more stuff like this.
I enjoy when filmmakers tries to push boundaries and want to experiment, especially when there is a big studio behind. I think that some things are left without a resolution on purpose, so the audience can give his own interpretation about the ending. The problem is that too much is unexplained and this generate a lot of plot holes. Even with its flaws, "The Empty Man" is still a really nice film with solid acting. If you are a horror lover, please give it a chance, you might be surprised.
