The Empty Man

I pride myself in knowing what films are coming out; I watch tons of movie trailers. I try and keep a pulse on everything coming out from blockbusters to small indie films, foreign films, documentaries, etc. How "The Empty Man" from 2020 flew by me without noticing is odd. It was the pandemic after all but still. This is a horror film I had never heard of, had no knowledge of until last week. On a whim I watched it. Blown away. "The Empty Man" is one of the best horror movies I have watched in the last few decades, ranking up there with last year's "Talk to Me," and giving it a place alongside "Don't Breathe," "It Follows," "Hereditary," "Us," and "Split." It's a firecracker with a somewhat slow burn: clocking in with a runtime of two hours and eighteen minutes, it flies by. It's big and ambitious. What's it all about? To keep it simple, it starts out with a "Candyman" style teenaged ritual, blow into a bottle and the boogeyman will appear. Then it turns into an investigation of a missing teen by a former cop with a drinking problem and a tragic past (played by James Badge Dale, who is bloody fantastic in this). His investigation leads him to something bigger, strange, San Francisco-weird! The movie is a blast with strong performances from all of the supporting cast. And the music! Oh man, did I love the music - like tasting different spices from other horror films - you know them but can't name them, a kind of subtle thematic ode to beloved films of the 70s and 80s. I loved this movie. Catch it streaming now on Disney+. Or grab a copy from your local video store. In Ottawa that would be Movies 'N' Stuff.