‘The Man in My Basement’ Review: Corey Hawkins and Willem Dafoe Lead a Lethargic Psychological Thriller That Only Gestures at Big Ideas

'The Man in My Basement' Review: Willem Dafoe and Corey Hawkins Play Mind Games in a Scattered Horror Film

If there is one thing that should be a rule in movies and in life, it’s this: if a deceptively friendly Willem Dafoe comes knocking at your door with a creepy smile to offer you a suspiciously large amount of cash to rent your basement, say no, lock the doors, throw away his card, and never speak to him again. Unfortunately for Corey Hawkins‘ troubled Charles in Nadia Latif’s “The Man in My Basement,” he does not heed all the alarm bells going o…

‘The Man in My Basement’ Review: Corey Hawkins and Willem Dafoe Star in a Walter Mosley Adaptation That Compels but Doesn’t Convince

Nadia Latif directs 'The Man in My Basement,' an adaptation of Walter Mosley's novel starring Corey Hawkins and Willem Dafoe.

‘The Man in My Basement’ Review: Corey Hawkins and Willem Dafoe Lead a Lethargic Psychological Thriller That Only Gestures at Big Ideas

The psychological thriller “The Man in My Basement” adapts Walter Mosley’s 2004 novel of the same name, but yields little by way of intriguing psychology or thrills. Set in the quaint Long Island village of Sag Harbor — a historically African American community — it follows a young Black slacker whose inherited home becomes the […]

The Man In My Basement Review: Corey Hawkins & Willem Dafoe Elevate A Too-Ambitious Horror Thriller That Stalls

Based on the novel of the same name by Walter Mosley, Nadia Latif, who co-wrote the script with the author, crafts an occasionally stirring and messy directorial feature debut with The Man in My Basement. It’s difficult to manage deep themes with slow-burn horror; the film’s attempts are only occasionally successful. The horror mystery is more of the latter, laying the groundwork for intriguing questions about one’s responsibility to keep ancest…

The Man In My Basement Review: TIFF 2025

More unsettling drama than traditional thriller, The Man In My Basement pairs Willem Dafoe and Corey Hawkins in a tense, philosophical story of race, power, and morality, marking a confident feature debut for Nadia Latif. The post The Man In My Basement Review: TIFF 2025 appeared first on That Shelf.