Starring James Badge Dale and Marin Ireland, it follows an ex-cop who, upon an investigation into a missing girl, discovers a secret cult.

Reception improved after the film came out on home media and streaming services, and it was reported by some publications that The Empty Man gained a cult following.

Greg finds him in an almost catatonic state, sitting in front of and staring at a massive, ancient humanoid skeleton with inhuman features embedded in the cave wall.

In Missouri 2018, former detective James Lasombra is grieving the death of his wife, Allison, and their son, Henry, who died in a car accident a year ago.

Nora's daughter Amanda runs away and they find a message written in blood in the bathroom saying "The Empty Man made me do it".

While searching Amanda's bedroom, James discovers a flier from a group called the Pontifex Institute with tulpa written on the back.

Devara sees the Empty Man, who attacks and kills her in the steam room of a spa with a pair of scissors.

Speaking to Parsons, he is alarmed at the leader's references to the Empty Man, claiming him to be an entity that provides his followers with what they want as long as they do his bidding.

Suffering from hallucinations, James ambushes and kidnaps a cult member, Garrett, and asks him what is happening before brutally beating him.

James discovers that the man is actually Paul, who is in a comatose state and regularly visited by cult members to get messages from the entity.

She tells James that he is a tulpa, a new vessel for the being, and that his memories and relationships were fabricated by her and the cult to ensure the deity's connection through his pain and loss.

[6] On July 7, 2016, it was announced that James Badge Dale was cast in the lead role as an ex-cop plagued by the violent deaths of his wife and son, who tries to find a missing girl.

[13] A majority of principal photography took place in South Africa in late 2016, but the final week of production was set for Chicago, which would double for St.

[18] The crew had found itself with several unexpected months to start on its working cut due to the production pause, but after filming wrapped, Prior was told he had to assemble a version of the print for test screenings almost immediately.

“We just hadn’t had a chance to really fully digest it yet.” Following low test scores, the studio began panicking over losing a tax rebate from South Africa due to impending deadlines.

[20] The film was originally scheduled for release on August 7, 2020, but was delayed to December 4 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, before being moved up to the October date following the shifting of Death on the Nile.

Analysts blamed the film's low box office performance on the audience's initial assumption of another creepypasta-based supernatural teen horror film in the vein of films like Slender Man and The Bye Bye Man, hesitation to return to theaters due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and zero marketing push from the studio, with social media analytics corporation RelishMix saying: "The campaign on social for 20th's The Empty Man dropped just one week ago on [October] 16.

[26] While initial reviews were mostly negative, the film has undergone some critical reappraisal as a modern cult favorite, featuring in several "best of" lists from publications including Polygon and The Ringer.

[31] Michael Gingold of Rue Morgue gave the film a positive review, saying it's "not at all the movie that its trailers are selling, and in this case, that's a good thing".

[1] Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave the film 2.5/4 stars and wrote that, "this is a truly surreal and strange piece of work, anchored by some top-notch craft […] I suspect horror fans will be surprised by a movie experience far fuller than I was expecting.

[24][33] However, since first debuting on VOD in 2021, the film has gained traction as a modern cult favorite, growing a significant fanbase primarily through social media and word of mouth.

[12][31][34] Describing the film's "swelling social-media reclamation" and status as an "honest-to-Cthulu cult movie," Adam Nayman at Mubi noted that "its financiers could have had a niche hit or even a cause celebre on their hands if only they’d packaged their wares as 'elevated horror.