Film

The Empty Man

Name: The Empty Man
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Released: 2020
Cast: James Badge Dale, Marin Ireland, Sasha Frolova, Samantha Logan, Evan Jonigkeit

A former detective hunts a missing girl and stumbles into a conspiracy involving a dangerous urban legend. The Empty Man is a slow-burn horror film that privileges atmosphere and dread over jump scares, building toward genuinely unsettling ideas about belief, suggestion, and what we're willing to accept as real. It's for patient viewers who like their scares cerebral.

TMDb rating

3.1

If you liked this

Insidious2011

Establishes the same unease through gradual world-building rather than sudden shocks. Patrick Wilson anchors both films with genuine vulnerability, and both trust their audience to sit with discomfort before the horror arrives.

But The third act relies on more conventional haunted-house mechanics than The Empty Man's stranger territory, and it moves considerably faster, which some find less unsettling.

Hereditary2018

Another film about ordinary people pulled into occult horror that rewards patience and close attention. Both understand that the real terror isn't the jump—it's the slow realization of what's actually happening and how trapped you are.

But Hereditary is far more explicitly traumatic and features graphic violence. It's also more confident in its storytelling; The Empty Man can feel deliberately obscure.

The Wailing2016

A mystery-horror masterclass where supernatural dread emerges from confusion and ambiguity. Like The Empty Man, it builds its mythology piece by piece and refuses easy answers about who or what is actually responsible.

But It's South Korean, subtitled, and runs nearly three hours. The plot can feel impenetrable; you'll leave with questions rather than resolution, which delights some and frustrates others.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Empty Man

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Haunting1963

Both films understand that the most effective horror often lives in what isn't shown—in our readiness to accept that something terrible is real because we're told it is.

Robert Wise's psychological haunted-house film pioneered the notion that suggestion and atmosphere matter more than effects. It's the missing link between classic horror and The Empty Man's approach—ghosts as metaphor for psychological dissolution.

But Shot in black-and-white with no actual monster reveal, it relies entirely on inference and dread. Modern audiences expecting visual confirmation of the supernatural often find it slow and unsatisfying.

The Ring2002

Both films understand that urban legends—things people believe because other people believe them—can be just as dangerous as actual ghosts. The atmosphere of dread builds through research and investigation rather than direct confrontation.

But The Ring is tighter and more propulsive, with clearer rules and a more satisfying narrative arc. The Empty Man's meandering investigation might feel padded by comparison.

The Lighthouse2019

Shares The Empty Man's willingness to get weird and abstract in the final act. Both films trust their viewers to accept genuinely strange imagery and thematic ambiguity as legitimate storytelling rather than failing clarity.

But It's aggressively stylized in black-and-white, features deliberate dialogue affectation, and offers no catharsis. Some see it as pretentious; others find it exhilarating.

It Follows2015

A supernatural-horror concept film that works through mood, logic, and the tension of slow pursuit. Both films are less interested in scaring you with gore than with creating an atmosphere where something feels fundamentally wrong.

But It Follows can feel repetitive—the same threat, the same scenario, the same locations. Some viewers find its ambiguous ending unsatisfying rather than haunting.

The Conjuring2013

Expertly crafted supernatural horror with strong characterization and genuine tension. James Wan's clarity and narrative momentum provide a counterpoint to The Empty Man's opacity while maintaining the same respect for audience intelligence.

But It's more conventional and comfortable in its structure and scares. If you're looking for something as formally unconventional as The Empty Man, this will feel safer and more familiar.

Sinister2012

A mystery involving found footage and occult research that escalates from domestic investigation to cosmic horror. Both films feature protagonists drawn deeper into something they don't fully understand, with genuinely unsettling imagery that lingers.

But Sinister leans harder on visceral violence and disturbing imagery of dead children. The Empty Man stays more abstract; if you prefer your horror concrete, Sinister delivers more graphically.

Mulholland Drive2001

A masterclass in disorientation and narrative unreliability. Like The Empty Man, it constructs an unsettling reality piece by piece, blurs the line between what's real and what isn't, and demands active engagement from viewers.

But It's a surrealist psychological thriller, not horror—and nearly three hours long. If you want conventional scares or clarity, this will feel alienating rather than thrilling.

Caveat2021

Both films use isolation, ritualistic elements, and visual strangeness to create a sense that the protagonist has wandered into a logic they don't understand—where the rules aren't explained because the film itself doesn't fully understand them.

A recent independent horror film using minimal dialogue, super-8 aesthetic, and folk-horror atmosphere to create something genuinely disorienting and strange. It shares The Empty Man's refusal to explain itself and its interest in dread over jump scares.

But It's extremely low-budget, shot on archival film stock, has almost no dialogue, and the plot is deliberately obscure. You're watching a mood and an idea rather than a story with narrative momentum.

The OA2016

Both feature protagonists slowly uncovering a secret network that operates on belief and ritual rather than rational logic—where the horror is partly the realization that you don't understand the rules of the world you've entered.

A serialized mystery that builds a mythology through investigation, elliptical dialogue, and strange ritualistic elements. Like The Empty Man, it's unafraid to get genuinely weird, expects patience, and rewards viewers who lean into ambiguity rather than demanding explanation.

But It was cancelled after two seasons on a cliffhanger. If you need closure, this will feel like a betrayal rather than an invitation to speculation. Also, the dialogue can sound deliberately oblique in ways that frustrate some viewers.