Midwest Wide Angle - The Empty Man (2020) & Empty Seats

Edwardsville - Main Street: A major filming location for The Empty Man (2020)

This week we took a look at the production of David Prior's 2020 flop thriller/horror film The Empty Man. I must confess, I've been obsessed with this film since at least 2021 despite not enjoying the actual film in the slightest due to the film's heavy use of reasonably priced locations not ten minutes away from my working studio. I was on an extended trip for a majority of the late 2010s, so I personally missed the hustle and bustle of the production's short time here in Edwardsville, but many residents still have memories of the hectic time.

With only a week and change in the small town, along with a trek to the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge and the historic Lemp Brewery (marked as an "undisclosed location" in most production recaps), you'd think the location's charm doesn't shine through in the finished film. On the contrary, the local shoots lead to some of the best shots in the film, unconcerned with passing off South Africa as middle America.

Unfortunately, Empty Man had its modestly budgeted legs (at only $16 Million) cut out from under it, releasing in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. While reviews were certainly unkind to the mediocre feature, the abysmal return of $4 Million is an odd one to be sure.

If you ask "John-Emery, why do you think so much about a flop film like this, is it just because it's shot in your hometown?", you'd only be half right. While I'm always interested in the appeal of Midwestern film (read the title of this reoccurring blog segment), it's the budget of films that interests me. Prior himself referred to only $11 Million being used on the shoot itself: a pittance to modern Hollywood, to be sure. So herein lies the moral of our short story; shoot at home. Waste not your time and money getting a shot or two in Bulgaria or New Zealand when your own home state offers cheaper locations that resonate with audiences on sight.

Architecture, road layout, street sign placement, all these things are subtle details that your audience can and will pick up on during their viewing. There's a good reason why we still shoot on location: it makes the audience feel at home.