10 TERRIFYING Horror Movie Openings (That Led To Disappointing Movies)

The Empty Man remains somewhat enjoyable and intriguing until its bonkers climax, but it also falls off a cliff after its initial protagonists, well, fall off a cliff.

The chilling prologue is generally a self-contained story about four friends – Ruthie, Paul, Fiona, and Greg – who go mountain hiking during a snowstorm. Soon, Paul encounters a human-like skeleton, gets possessed, infects Ruthie with the evil spirit, and stares catatonically as Ruthie murders Fiona, Greg, and herself the next day.

It’s a compellingly eerie and enigmatic prelude that evokes 21st-century classics such as the Evil Dead remake and The Blackcoat’s Daughter.

The plot then flashes forward two decades and follows former detective James Lasombra as he tries to locate his neighbor’s missing daughter, atone for his tragic past, and discover the truth about the mysterious entity.

Conceptually, it’s not a bad place to take things, but in execution, The Empty Man buckles under its own absurd and clichéd weight. Specifically, it devolves into a smorgasbord of tropes – subpar acting, angsty teens with secrets, a menacing cult, etc. – and elaborate explanations that confuse complicatedness for profundity.

Consequently, the film starts resembling disasters such as The Bye Bye Man and Wish Upon. Sure, it’s better than those dumpster fires, but it’s closer to them than you might expect given The Empty Man’s frightening foreword.