The Man in My Basement

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1:55

The Man in My Basement

R

Released Sep 12

1h 55m

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

42%

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43 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

In the African American neighborhood of Sag Harbor, New York, Charles Blakey (Corey Hawkins) is out of work, out of luck and on the verge of foreclosure on his ancestral home. A knock on the door from a mysterious businessman, Anniston Bennet (Willem Dafoe), brings a bizarre and lucrative proposition; rent his dusty stand-up basement out for the summer and receive enough money to clear his debts for good. Once Charles accepts, he finds himself led down a terrifying path that confronts his family's ghosts and locks the men in a terrifying puzzle, at the heart of it race, the source of their traumas and the root of all evil.

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Barry Levitt

Empire Magazine

Though The Man In My Basement juggles a few too many ideas, Nadia Latif has crafted an unnerving thriller with dynamite performances from leads Willem Dafoe and Corey Hawkins. 

Rated: 3/5

Sep 18, 2025

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

This audacious feature debut, The Man In My Basement, from the Sudanese-British theatre director Nadia Latif belongs to the Henry James school — deviously, wickedly so.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 17, 2025

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Kristy Puchko

Mashable

For all the atmosphere and the grounded yet disturbing performances, the movie fumbles its finale, delivering neither nerve-shredding scares nor a heart-filling nor heart-wrenching resolution.

Sep 16, 2025

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Emiliano Basile

EscribiendoCine

...The Man in My Basement never clearly defines its objectives, leaving us wanting to read the novel to better understand its message. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 4/10

Sep 29, 2025

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Nagier Chambers

Big Gold Belt Media

Strong performances and striking visuals can’t fully save a story that tries to do too much at once.

Rated: C

Sep 25, 2025

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Jeffrey M. Anderson

Common Sense Media

While it sometimes veers off track and loses focus, this unusual thriller has an electrifying cat-and-mouse conversation at its center and grapples with powerful, relevant themes.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 24, 2025

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Norm V

Still unable to connect history to the man in the basement experience.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/15/25

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metalliphil

Interesting storytelling and solid acting w a decent build up that didnt end up revealing anything to the audience they dont already know, so the ending ends up half hearted.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/14/25

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Troy M

A movie more concerned with metaphors and symbolism than a coherent plot, character development, and respecting its audience with anything remotely resembling an ending. The entire plot is also utterly ridiculous. And those who say this about equating whites to the devil or evil are wrong. This movie ultimately only makes a single statement: if a white man is dumb enough to lock himself in a cage in a stranger’s basement, he’s certainly dumb enough to watch this movie even after reading this negative review.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

09/30/25

Full Review

tm11999 M

holey-moley, the white man IS the devil. oh woe is me black man story telling comes off as stupid. slavery never ended and we are still slaves......you believe me don't you? super dumb waste of time. go armor all the dashboard of your car instead.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

09/29/25

Full Review

Craig K

Interesting, complex, weird, and uncomfortable at times. I did like it, though it wasn't quite what I was expecting. Well, I guess I didn't know what to expect. I suppose I thought there would be more actual horror, though I did like the complex psychology and the exploration of culture and society. The ending was a positive one.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/28/25

Full Review

Jae P

This movie is absolutely terrible. Would never have imagined Willem Dafoe would agree to be in such a poorly written movie. It's none of the things it tries to be while taking itself extremely serious. It tries to be deep but turns out to be a jumbled mess of too many poorly executed ideas. The worst movie i've ever wasted 2 hours on.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

09/28/25

Full Review

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Nadia Latif

Director

Corey Hawkins

Charles Blakey

Willem Dafoe

Anniston Bennet

Anna Diop

Narciss Gully

Jonathan Ajayi

Ricky Winkler

Mark Arnold

Wilson Ryder

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The Man in My Basement: Trailer 1

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The Man in My Basement: Teaser Trailer

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Synopsis

In the African American neighborhood of Sag Harbor, New York, Charles Blakey (Corey Hawkins) is out of work, out of luck and on the verge of foreclosure on his ancestral home. A knock on the door from a mysterious businessman, Anniston Bennet (Willem Dafoe), brings a bizarre and lucrative proposition; rent his dusty stand-up basement out for the summer and receive enough money to clear his debts for good. Once Charles accepts, he finds himself led down a terrifying path that confronts his family's ghosts and locks the men in a terrifying puzzle, at the heart of it race, the source of their traumas and the root of all evil.

Director: Nadia Latif
Producer: Dave Bishop, Diane Houslin, John Giwa-Amu, Len Rowles
Screenwriter: Nadia Latif, Walter Mosley
Distributor: Hulu
Production Co: Andscape
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 12, 2025, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 25, 2025
Runtime: 1h 55m

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