The Empty Man

Right now you can watch The Empty Man in Australia on Disney Plus, and in the US on fuboTV and YouTube TV — and it earns its twists rather than manufacturing them. It knows exactly what kind of film it is from the opening scene, and never loses that thread. With 1,041 viewer ratings on TMDB, this is not a title flying under the radar. James Badge Dale anchors it, but the writing does the real work. Start it on Disney Plus whenever you need something guaranteed to land.

There is a reason The Empty Man keeps coming up in conversation. The plotting gives The Empty Man its backbone, but it is the characters you come back for. On the trail of a missing girl, an ex-cop comes across a secretive group attempting to summon a terrifying supernatural entity. James Badge Dale and Marin Ireland lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2020. What makes The Empty Man hold up is that the resolution matters less than how the characters get there. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

For anyone who wants their crime drama to earn its twists, The Empty Man delivers. It has built its own audience without needing a direct comparison. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Watch James Badge Dale work — it is a masterclass in the genre. Few crime dramas earn their twists this consistently.