Based on the comic series released by Boom! Studios of the same name, The Empty Man begins its story when an ex-cop, James Lasombra ( James Badge Dale ), tries to help his friend, Nora Quail ( Marin Ireland ), to find his daughter, Amanda Quail ( Sasha Frolova ), who is thought to have escaped. . The search carried out by James Lasombra then brought him together with one of Amanda Quail's best friends, Davara Walsh ( Samantha Logan).), who later revealed that Amanda Quail's disappearance was related to the ritual of summoning a mysterious legendary figure known as The Empty Man which was carried out by him along with Amanda Quail and several of their other friends. Based on Davara Walsh's narrative, the figure of The Empty Man will be heard one day after the summoning ritual, will be seen two days after the summoning ritual, and will come three days after the summoning ritual. James Lasombra, of course, didn't just believe in the existence of this legend. However, after Davara Walsh and her friends were found dead the next day, James Lasombra realized that a mystical power was lurking around him.
It was the last film to be released using the 20 th Century Fox logo at the beginning – 20 th Century Fox was acquired by Walt Disney Studios in 2019 and later changed its name to 20 th Century Studios, The Empty Man has a storyline that may remind some viewers. in The Bye Bye Man (Stacy Title, 2017) and Slender Man (Sylvain White, 2018) which also uses the existence of a deadly legend as the foundation of the story. With a story duration of 137 minutes, The Empty Manhas a story script that feels like a blend of three stories that have different story colors but with a common thread that connects the three stories. Luckily, apart from a few problems that arise due to the inconsistency of the narrative tone, Prior is able to present a plot as well as a story direction that manages to prevent The Empty Man from being boring.
The opening scene of the film, which is presented for almost 30 minutes, presents a number of characters who are trapped in a terror that at first may feel unrelated to the line of characters or the conflict that then follows in the next half of the story. Even so, Prior's execution of the opening scene succeeded in instilling a sense of horror that was quite gripping. The atmosphere of supernatural horror storytelling can also be felt in the story of James Lasombra's search for the character of Amanda Quail who disappeared but, slowly, turned into a mystery story when Prior made his film about a cult organization related to the legend of The Empty Man who had presented in the previous story elements. Through the three elements of the story,
The formation of the story's red thread, which is carried out slowly by Prior, sometimes feels like it requires more patience. Even so, through the visual display of scenes with horror nuances that can be executed well, The Empty Man can continue to maintain the consistency of tension in his narrative. The cinematography support by Anastos N. Michos as well as the music provided by Christopher Young and Lustmord also further strengthens the element of horror presented by the storyline of this film. Dale's appearance as the central character in this film also plays a crucial role in maintaining the focus of the film's storyline. Through his appearance, the series of mysteries presented byThe Empty Man can be streamed well. Dale also makes the figure of James Losombra easy to like. Overall, The Empty Man is definitely a pretty impressive directing debut. Prior has a strong vision of the horror he wants to tell and is able to execute it convincingly.
