nick’s review published on Letterboxd:
The Empty Man is the perfect example of overdoing. Compared to all the Lovecraftian horror masterpieces of recent years, from Resolution to Hereditary, The Empty Man, despite its overflowing ambition, simply lacks nuances and self-awareness to properly execute its rather promising screenplay.
With its over 2-hour runtime, The Empty Man lingers on redundant details and cliched plot devices far too long for its actual engaging segments to take off. Despite its obvious urban legend-ish nature that brings to mind the likes of Slender Man, The Empty Man is definitely more in line with occult horrors like Hereditary, except that it obviously lacks the lowkey, atmospheric excellence that earns Hereditary its instant classic status. Instead it opts for the more brute, conventional route, by spelling everything out and leaving nothing to the audience's imagination. The end result is an over-the-top, hollow horror that betrays its sub-genre promises and overstays its welcome.
