There’s a prevalent pop culture phrase- Thinking is believing. While plenty of essays prove why that isn’t or is true, 2020’s horror film, The Empty Man, falls on the latter corner of the argument. The film follows a hiking group in Bhutan in the beginning.
One of them enters a cave after hearing a whistling sound coming from it. He, Paul, encounters a symmetrically placed skeleton in the cave.
They do leave the cave, but something has changed in the group. Over time, they all start killing each other due to mind control trickery. Also, one of them sees a silhouetted black man approaching them, the Empty Man. In the end, only Paul survives. The story then cuts to James, a former detective, trying to find Amanda, his friend’s daughter.
In his investigations, he comes across the Pontifex Institute, where James finds several references to The Empty Man. Throughout the film, James is haunted by the same long-limbed black silhouetted monster in his dreams. In the end, the detective does find Amanda, but he also realizes something about him that shatters his sense of self.
James discovers he isn’t real and was created three days ago by the Pontifex Institute to become a vessel or Tulpa that will allow them to communicate with the ancient being they worship. He also discovers that the memories of his wife and son, who died in the car accident, were all fake and implanted by the cult organization. Ultimately, he kills the last vessel, a hiker named Paul, and becomes the messenger.
What Actually Happened in the Empty Man?
The Empty Man explores multiple deep themes but has a pretty straightforward and non-convoluted plot. It’s revealed that the Pontifex Institute members are part of a cult visiting a hospital to get messages from Paul, the hiker from the beginning of the film, who is a patient there. James finds Amanda, who he was searching for, in Paul’s room.
She says that Paul is a carrier signal. He is the transmitter, and they (the cult) are the receivers. Amanda also says that the message is contagious. When James calls Nora, James’ friend and Amanda’s mother, who had put him in his case, she says he has the wrong number. Amanda then says that Paul is getting weaker, so they need a new replacement for the signal.
So the Pontifex Institute did a radical experiment to make one. It’s almost spelled out that James is the replacement. Upon hearing this, his reality begins to collapse. The film then shows viewers quick images- walking down a hall, a meeting with a Lovecraftian monster, and fighting with the hospitalized Paul, after which James shoots him in the head, and the ensuing sprayed blood looks like the Pontifex logo.
The hospital workers bow before him as the message gets whispered. So the ending is clear- James is the new transmitter of the alien messages after Paul, the first messenger we see, gets killed.
What Is the Meaning of the Empty Man Movie?
The horror film Empty Man is based on a graphic novel of the same name. The core mystery of the film is about the Tulpa. The Empty Man is the Tulpa. It’s a shared idea that can come true if people believe it. The Pontifex Institute cult wants to unite the physical world and the world of consciousness and thoughts. The Empty Man acts as the bridge here.
The Empty Man can be called through a ritual where the summoner blows into a bottle until it whistles. Then, the one who called him can see and hear the Empty Man. In three days, the Empty Man will take the summoner’s body. In the end, it’s revealed that James, the former detective, is the next vessel of the Empty Man, and he takes over from the hiker called Paul.
What’s also exciting about the film is the way the cult interacts with the subject of paranormal or extra-terrestrial forces. The forces beyond the physical realm use the vessels captured by the Empty Man (like James and Paul) to communicate with the cult. So the question is- who is transmitting? It could be aliens sending signals from another universe.
It could also be that the signals are being sent from a parallel dimension or world. Interestingly, the ‘receiver’ or vessel concept isn’t unfamiliar in our world because every religion seemingly has someone who has claimed to be the messenger of a higher power. So the film intersects religion and science while telling viewers not to trust what they see or know.
Was James Real in the Empty Man?
At the film’s end, it’s revealed that James is a Tulpa or a thoughtform. The protagonist was created by a cult called the Pontifex Institute which serves a seemingly extra-terrestrial ancient being. It’s never revealed what or who this being is because the Empty Man serves only as a vessel or medium through which this being can communicate with the cult.
All of the memories of his wife and son getting killed in a fatal car accident while he was busy cheating on his spouse were implanted by the Pontifex Institute. So he suffered through heavy guilt for something that wasn’t even real. However, it is this guilt that makes him weak and susceptible. So he gave himself over when the time came.
After all, his life was a lie, and he was created the day the viewers met him. So he was born or made three days before succumbing to becoming the vessel. His entire purpose was to serve the cult. So is James real? He isn’t a human being, that’s true.
But he possessed consciousness and occupied the material realm even though he wasn’t born. Yet, he didn’t exist in the true sense of the word. He was just a puppet with a human-like body.
What Are the Themes of the Empty Man?
The Empty Man film explores various themes. One of the most prominent ones is coping with loss and grief. The titular Empty Man is a black-cloaked being of pure darkness; he’s a symbolic representation of the psychological darkness that plagues people in their lives. James is grappling with the implanted memories of his dead wife and son, while Paul cuts his wrists due to mental health issues.
The Empty Man only visits those mentally vulnerable and struggling to stay alive. Apart from this, the film also explores how the cult manipulates susceptible people. James, too, gives in at the end.
The movie also asks its viewers to ponder the intersection of science and religion. Who could that higher being be? A type of God for the mere mortals? And what message is getting transmitted?
Another critical theme the film explores is of seeing and believing. Is what we know and see the truth? Or can that be manipulated as well? James thought he had a dead wife and son. But it turns out it’s all fake memories implanted by the Pontifex Institute. In fact, he isn’t even real and was created only three days ago.
What Do They Whisper in the Empty Man?
The Empty Man gets summoned by blowing into empty bottles while standing on a bridge. On the first day, the summoner hears him; on the second day, they see him; and on the third day, their body is taken over by him. When the summoner gets mind controlled, they do anything the Empty Man asks.
The hikers killed each other after Paul came in contact with the skeleton of the extra-terrestrial being. They whispered and wrote that the Empty Man made them commit the murders.
At the end of the film, after James becomes the vessel, something is whispered as the soundtrack begins playing, but that isn’t decipherable, probably because the message has no meaning to those who aren’t in the cult. So to us, it’s akin to gibberish.
Is Empty Man a Flop?
When The Empty Man was released in 2020, it grossed only $4 million globally. But after the makers put it on HBO Max, it experienced a surge of fan following, with many calling the film a contender to become a cult classic.
The Empty Man is available on HBO Max.
So what do you think about The Empty Man?
Do you think that film can be a horror classic? Or is it too confusing and philosophical to be so? Also, who is that extra-terrestrial creature the Pontifex Institute cult communicates with?
Let us know in the comments below.
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