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The Man in My Basement

Play trailer 1:55 Poster for The Man in My Basement R Sep 2025 1h 55m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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40% Tomatometer 48 Reviews 28% Popcornmeter 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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The Man in My Basement

Critics Reviews

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Wendy Ide Observer (UK) In trying to include everything it ends up saying very little. It’s a pity, because Latif shows considerable promise with her grasp of the visual language of cinema. Oct 7, 2025 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review John Serba Decider Fascinating, yes. But fulfilling? Not quite. There’s much to appreciate in The Man in My Basement, but it just doesn’t pay on its promise. Oct 14, 2025 Full Review Marlon Wallace The M Report (WBOC.com) ...there appears to be some racial guilt that sprang from initial racial animus with which this film is somewhat grappling. Strangely, I don't think the film spends enough time with Anniston [Willem Dafoe's character] to sell that aspect. Oct 9, 2025 Full Review John Stark Mac the Movie Guy Willem Dafoe is once again perfectly cast as an eccentric wildcard, and Corey Hawkins gives one of his best performances. Rated: 61/100 Oct 4, 2025 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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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 Full Review 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 Full Review TheMovieSearch R The Man in My Basement aims to present itself as a psychological thriller, but instead of gripping suspense or narrative intrigue, it delivers a slow and uneven story that never quite finds its rhythm. The film’s concept has potential—mysterious, eerie, and rich with possibility—but the execution falls short, leaving audiences more puzzled than engaged. It’s one of those projects that seems unsure of what it wants to be: a character study, a morality tale, or a full-fledged thriller. Unfortunately, it never commits fully to any of them, and the end result is a film that feels hollow despite its heavy themes. From a directing standpoint, there are flashes of brilliance. The framing and atmosphere in certain scenes do hint at a director who understands tension and human complexity. The problem is that these moments are fleeting. The film gets bogged down in long, drawn-out conversations that, while possibly meant to be profound, feel stagnant and repetitive. Instead of building tension or emotional connection, these exchanges drain the story of its energy. By the halfway mark, it’s difficult to tell where the plot is headed—or if it’s heading anywhere at all. The performances are solid, though wasted on a script that never allows them to flourish. The actors deliver their lines with sincerity, but when a screenplay fails to build momentum, even good performances can feel trapped. The basement itself, meant to be a claustrophobic centerpiece, doesn’t quite capture the menace or mystery one might expect from such a setting. It’s as though the story is waiting for a moment of revelation that never arrives, leaving viewers stranded in narrative limbo. What’s perhaps most disappointing about The Man in My Basement is its lack of emotional investment. The setup promises something deeply psychological, but the follow-through never dives beneath the surface. Every time the film seems ready to explore the mind of its characters, it retreats into quiet monotony instead. The sense of danger, dread, or discovery that a film like this depends on simply isn’t there. It’s not confusing in a clever or complex way—it’s just confusing in an unfocused way. That said, there’s a faint spark of potential beneath the film’s shortcomings. The director clearly understands tone and mood; it’s the pacing and storytelling structure that falter. Had the screenplay been tightened, the dialogue more purposeful, and the action balanced with the introspection, this could have been a hidden gem of the genre. Instead, it feels like an idea that never evolved past its first draft—a story that wanted to be profound but got lost in its own darkness. Ultimately, The Man in My Basement is a film that fails to earn the weight of its premise. It’s not awful, but it’s frustratingly inert, moving neither the heart nor the pulse. The movie drifts along, hoping its atmosphere will make up for its lack of direction, but by the end, there’s little to remember. It’s the cinematic equivalent of staring at shadows on the wall—there’s shape, there’s movement, but there’s nothing really there. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 10/20/25 Full Review Hazza f Despite having the brilliant Willem Dafoe and creating a nice atmosphere at first, the film ultimately leads nowhere, wasting everything it had built up. The script is terrible, and the story itself is honestly awful — it starts from a cliché setup and just goes through the motions. The characters exist purely for the convenience of the script and have no real substance. Attempts at being strange or symbolic only come off as meaningless and confusing, leaving nothing behind but a sense of pointlessness. The eerie tone at the beginning was promising, but it gradually turns thin and hollow, turning into a long, meaningless display of a completely dreadful story. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 10/17/25 Full Review Fay T Very disappointing Seriously it was supposed to be a thriller Nothing thrilling about this movie I’m sure the author would be horrified with the portrayal ! Rated 1 out of 5 stars 10/13/25 Full Review Giorgio G Well, what can I say?! It's an extremely strange, morbid and scurrile tale of two men's past being forced onto each other, with one manipulating the other at one point and vice-versa the other times. Though Corey Hawkins appears throughout the movie it's the occasional appearances of Willem Dafoe which bring drama and tension to the story. It's too weird to really be recommended, though it is not a bad movie in it's odd touches of guilt dreams and psychotic delusions which don't make this a horror movie, but a tense drama about reflections. 5/10 points! Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 10/10/25 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

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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