The Empty Man

The film is adapted from the BOOM! Studios comic series The Empty Man, created by writer Cullen Bunn and artist Vanesa R. Del Rey, first published in 2014. The comic is a supernatural horror series following an FBI agent investigating deaths linked to the titular entity.

Released by 20th Century Studios in October 2020 during the pandemic, the film initially received negative reviews and grossed very little at the box office. Horror audiences have since reassessed it, praising its ambitious blend of detective noir, cosmic horror, and its sprawling two-hour-plus runtime that builds to a disturbing existential climax.

While the Empty Man entity shares surface similarities with creepypasta figures like Slender Man, including a tall humanoid form associated with disappearances, Cullen Bunn's comic source material draws more directly from cosmic horror and Lovecraftian traditions. The film expands on this with the Pontifex Society, a cult whose rituals and cosmology are rooted in existential and metaphysical horror rather than internet folklore.

The film was written and directed by David Prior, who previously worked on documentary and behind-the-scenes content for films like Zodiac and The Social Network. The Empty Man was his narrative feature directorial debut, produced by Boom! Studios' film division with 20th Century Fox distributing.