The Empty Man (2020) - Three movies for the price of one - 8/10 (16/11/20)

The Empty Man is a horror movie with an extensive length justified by some surprising genre, mood and plot shifts.

The opening sequence feels like an atmospheric horror movie set in the ice and snow. It shows how a group of four friends accidentally discovers a cave with a strange extraterrestrial skeleton. One of the two men gets possessed by the mysterious skeleton and starts to behave awkwardly. He whispers words in an unknown language into his friends' ears, leaves the cabin to sit in the ice and snow and slowly drives everyone around him anxious, confused and unstable.

The film then shifts to the tale of an urban legend as a group of teenagers in Saint Louis attempt to contact a supernatural entity. These teenagers soon see things only they can see, get followed by the menacing entity they have called and ultimately have to fight for survival.

The last part of the movie shows a former cop who has lost his wife and son in a car accident while sleeping with another woman. He investigates the sudden disappearance of his lover's daughter. He soon finds out that she has joined a mysterious cult. As his investigation progresses, the desperate man faces mysteries and dangers that might be much more personal and intense than he would have initially anticipated.

All three parts of the movie convince with spooky atmosphere, very good acting performances and several unexpected plot twists leading to a stunning finale. The major downside of the film is that the three parts are so different that they don't really fit together and feel more like an anthology. The scriptwriters could have created three entirely different movies and it would have been particularly interesting to explore the opening sequence in greater detail.

Some people have criticized the movie for its lack of coherence and its extensive length but the creative script and addicting atmosphere compensate for those flaws. This movie is one of the better contemporary horror films because it's neither predictable nor moralizing. Many horror movies these days either rehash old ideas or try to teach a lesson. The Empty Man is like a horror movie should really be because it's creepy, mysterious and surprising. If you like horror films with conventional styles but some creative twists, then give the underrated and overlooked The Empty Man a fair chance.