10 Horror Movies That Aren’t About What You Think
4. The Empty Man
The Empty Man has received a whole bunch of buzz this year, with writers and fans alike praising it as an overlooked gem from 2020. However, after watching it it's pretty clear why this didn't make much of a dent last year - and that's because it's impossible to market.
A horror movie that runs an epic two-and-a-half hours is already a tough sell, but it doesn't help when it also blends completely different sub-genres and tells a story that's intentionally designed to keep you in the dark.
You might go into it expecting something like The Bye Bye Man, where a bunch of kids are being hunted by a supernatural entity who grows stronger the more you think about them. And that is what the movie is about... for around 20 minutes.
See, the thing about The Empty Man is it's essentially three movies in one. The prologue essentially acts as its own short horror film set in the snowy mountains, then we get the teen slasher, and finally we stumble into a cult-conspiracy and doomsday prophecy.
Consequently, as soon as you start thinking you know what the movie is going to be about, it switches gears and turns into something else.