"With most movie theaters shut down by the unprecedented events of 2020, studios took different strategies to handle their paralyzed releases. Some titles were released on VOD, others were sold to streaming services, and many high-profile films were pushed back until they could enjoy a robust rollout. But audience hesitation to return to theaters also gave studios an opportunity to bury unwanted films they'd inherited. Although it had been greenlit before Disney purchased Fox, David Prior's supernatural horror mystery The Empty Man was dumped into theaters without fanfare in the fall."
"Perhaps even loyal horror audiences were dismayed by the 137 minute running time, Prior's lack of credits, or the unusual tagline and poster, which evoked the "urban legend" subgenre of Slender Man and The Bye Bye Man. However, it became clear why distributors had been so hesitant about unveiling the film once it began to draw interest from niche genre fans; The Empty Man was a disturbing, paranoid, and decidedly noncommercial study of generational evil that was far more surrealist than its cryptic plot description suggested."
Studios responded to widespread theater closures in 2020 with varied strategies: VOD releases, streaming sales, and postponements. The Empty Man, greenlit before Disney acquired Fox, received a low-key theatrical release and became the last title distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film earned middling reviews and performed poorly at the box office amid little marketing and concerns from poor test screenings. Factors such as a 137-minute runtime, unconventional credits, and urban-legend style marketing alienated some viewers. The film presents a surreal, paranoid study of generational evil that found interest among niche horror fans despite noncommercial elements.
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