The Empty Man

The Empty Man follows James Lasombra, a former police officer who is approached by a friend, Nora Quail, after her daughter goes missing. His search draws him toward a secretive group whose interests lie in summoning a supernatural entity, a figure that local teenagers have turned into an urban legend. The film is a horror mystery in which the investigation widens rather than narrows, and the danger extends to those close to Lasombra.

David Prior directed and wrote the screenplay, working from a story tied to a comic published by BOOM! Studios, one of the production companies behind the film, alongside 20th Century Fox and Out of Africa Entertainment. James Badge Dale leads as Lasombra, with Marin Ireland, Sasha Frolova, Samantha Logan, Evan Jonigkeit and Virginia Kull among the credited cast of about thirty. It runs 137 minutes.

The film was released in October 2020. Made for a budget of around 16 million dollars, it took in roughly 5 million dollars worldwide, a fraction of its cost, and its theatrical run was limited by the conditions of that year. On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.2 from about 49,000 votes, and on TMDB a matching 6.2 from roughly a thousand votes, so viewers have been modest but not dismissive. A critics' rating of 5.8 from 30 reviews places professional reaction slightly below the audience scores.