Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- grim
- surreal
- foreboding
- late night horror viewing
- cult film discovery
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film ambitious, visually accomplished, and unusually strange, though its long runtime and uneven execution divided viewers.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
James Lasombra's search for a missing girl expands from an urban legend case into occult and existential horror.
The ex-cop follows disappearances, cryptic clues, and cult activity connected to the Empty Man phenomenon.
The American Midwest investigation uses gritty detective conventions before giving way to uncanny rituals, caves, and cosmic imagery.
The investigation increasingly challenges Lasombra's assumptions about what is real and who controls his experience.
Films like The Empty Man, and why
The Wicker Man
Shares cosmic horror, occult investigation, surreal atmosphere, and a gradual expansion from local mystery to existential dread.
Angel Heart
Combines neo-noir detective work, cult conspiracy, unsettling symbolism, and a bleak supernatural worldview.
The Endless
Features an investigative protagonist confronting reality-warping occult forces and nihilistic horror beneath an apparently ordinary world.
Fallen
Shares grim urban mystery, cult menace, psychological destabilization, and a descent into metaphysical horror.
Movie Details
- Director
- David Prior
- Release Date
- 2020-10-22
- Runtime
- 137 min
- Rating
- 6.2 / 10 (1113)
Cast
- James Badge Dale
- Marin Ireland
- Sasha Frolova
- Samantha Logan
- Evan Jonigkeit
- Virginia Kull
- Robert Aramayo
- Ron Canada
- Jessica Matten
- Aaron Poole
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV, YouTube TV, FXNow
- Rent
- Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Empty Man about?
- A grieving ex-cop investigating a viral urban legend is drawn into a cult conspiracy whose supernatural implications threaten the boundaries of reality.
- What is The Empty Man like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Empty Man as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Empty Man violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Empty Man as brutal.
- What did critics think of The Empty Man?
- Critics broadly found the film ambitious, visually accomplished, and unusually strange, though its long runtime and uneven execution divided viewers.
- Which films are like The Empty Man?
- Films with a similar feel include The Wicker Man, Angel Heart, The Endless, and Fallen.
- How long is The Empty Man?
- The Empty Man runs 137 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Empty Man?
- In United States, The Empty Man streams on fuboTV, YouTube TV, FXNow.
