When Disney swallowed Fox back in 2019, everyone was hyped about the X-Men joining the MCU. But while Mickey Mouse was busy counting his new superheroes, a few Fox projects got lost in the basement like a forgotten Tupperware container. One of those projects was a 2020 horror flick that had the absolute worst luck in Hollywood history—but it’s secretly a masterpiece.
A Recipe for Disaster
The Empty Man hit theaters in 2020. You remember 2020, right? The year we all stayed home, washed our groceries with Lysol, and definitely did not go to the movies.
Because of the pandemic, this poor film was basically sent out to die. It had a $16 million budget but only scraped up about $5 million at the box office. Disney basically treated it like a tax write-off, giving it zero marketing and no physical Blu-ray release. It was the cinematic equivalent of “nothing to see here, folks.”
Why It’s Actually Great
Luckily, the internet exists. Once The Empty Man hit Hulu, horror fans realized Disney had accidentally buried a gem. At 137 minutes, it’s a “thick” movie. It follows James Lasombra, an ex-detective mourning his family, who gets sucked into an investigation involving a local urban legend.
This isn’t your typical “jump scare every five minutes” slasher. It’s a cerebral, trippy, and genuinely unsettling experience that goes into some wild, culty territory. Without spoiling anything, the ending throws a curveball so hard it’ll leave you staring at the credits in a trance.
From Panel to Screen
If you finish the movie and find yourself craving more existential dread, check out the source material. The film is based on a comic series by Cullen Bunn (the guy who gave us Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe and Harrow County).
The comics are actually way more expansive and feature even nastier creatures than the film. It spans three arcs—The Empty Man, Recurrence, and Manifestation—and it’s widely considered one of the best horror series in modern comics.
Fire Up Hulu
If you’re a horror fan and you haven’t seen this yet, stop what you’re doing. Fire up Hulu and give James Lasombra two hours of your time. It’s the best movie Disney never knew you needed to see.
