The Empty Man

When I saw that 'The Empty Man' was going to be 137 minutes long it had a little reluctant to go to it. The reason is that if a horror movie isn't good then even a 90 minute runtime can be an absolute drag. It's a real gamble for a film in that genre to be anywhere near two hours, let alone well past it. I usually try to avoid trailers for movies before I see them but on this occasion I did happen to catch it. It didn't fill me with confidence. Luckily the trailer is actually a little misleading, and the film actually has quite a different feel to it. Even though I wouldn't say I loved this movie by any means, it did have enough going on to keep it watchable for that runtime - just.

The first thing I have to say is that the film is beautifully shot. There were a number of expertly crafted shots throughout the film, but one tracking shot from a map that turns into a forest and then finds its way down to a car driving through it was truly exquisite. I love that the artistic touches Ari Aster fills his films with are starting to inspire other directors.

The second thing that occurs to me is that isn't really a horror movie, or at least not solely a horror movie. Apparently it is based on a comic series which are more like dark detective stories. That's kind of the vibe I got here and why I think this was able to survive a 137 minute push. It isn't just a case of passing from character to character and watching a new and inventive way for them to die. In fact the film is very rarely scary. I say that more in the sense that it doesn't actually try to be scary all that often, however when it does try it rarely hits the mark either sadly.

If you're a fan of ASMR then you are likely going to have a good time with this film. There is a lot of it in the film and it is a pleasure to listen to (although it can be a risk to have you dozing off). I have a very middling opinion on this film. I neither hated it nor loved it. I wouldn't recommend people go out of their way to see it, but if they were going to see it I certainly wouldn't dissuade them either. Don't be too put off by the trailer is all I would say. It is not an accurate representation of the film.

"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.

It's easy to see why people would dislike this. It really comes down to taste, not anything wrong with the movie.

I haven't read the graphic novels, so I'm only going to base anything I say off the movie. And I really found this to be a good blend of real myths, real philosophies, real cults, and horror tropes.

Yes, it might come across as borrowing from anything and everything, but that actually fits one of the philosophies discussed by the cult: everything is connected and is the same.

I enjoyed the score; it underpinned how scenes should be interpreted without TELLING you how to feel like many tense movies do. The lighting and camerawork helped play out the story, and the set design gave a grimeyness that made the evil seem more ancient. Good dialogue and good acting. Definitely a slow burn that takes you were you need to be.

A little bit Call of Cthulhu, a little bit Wicker Man, a little Vanilla Sky. Just a little bit of a lot of somewhat cerebral horrors. Not a fast-paced jumpscare teen slasher flick by any means.

I found this to be a Brilliant horror movie, I found it extremely creepy, the big skeleton at the beginning gave me the shivers, no it's not a movie full of cheap jump scares so if that's what your looking for dont bother, it has a slowly creeping sense of dread, dont want to ruin it for anyone but go into it with an open mind as I did, seen some bad reviews for this from critics saying its boring, each to their own I guess, but I personally highly recommend! Hidden gem!

Hard to determine if this was a good movie or if I even liked it because I had no clue what was actually happening.