The Empty Man

...its conspiratorial, extremely online subtext is perfectly suited to at-home viewing, even as its widescreen style demands theatrical scale.

Remarkably ambitious and challenging. The Empty Man defies categorization. An exceptional directorial debut.

A truly surreal and strange piece of work, anchored by some top-notch craft elements, but weakened a bit by a bloated running time and a conclusion that likely left the few people who saw it in theaters more annoyed than thrilled.

While it does offer a new angle on a familiar horror setup, spinning into an entirely different subgenre in the process, The Empty Man stretches out an underbaked idea to an excruciating degree.

Producers couldn't have picked a better title, though. After I left my Friday afternoon screening, attended by a whopping two other people, I felt far from satisfied. Empty, you might say.

After an exciting 22 minute opening sequence, the film falls into a dull, investigative structure with brief but effective moments of horror peppered throughout. It nets out to an enjoyable ride.

The Empty Man is ambiguous by design. Prior’s approach to the material is slightly experimental, but he’s always confident to ask the most intriguing questions.

The beauty of The Empty Man really lies within the first 20-minutes. Once over, it feels disconnected from the rest of the film, which morphs into a mediocre, and sometimes predictable, early 2000s horror.

The most terrifying thing about The Empty Man's story is that nihilism eventually wins the day.

Director David Prior's feature debut is the scariest movie of 2020 and one of its best.