THE MAN IN MY BASEMENT is a new psychological thriller where Willem Dafoe plays the title character. It may feel like slow-burn storytelling at first, but it is ultimately a wild ride. Read our full The Man in My Basement movie review here!
THE MAN IN MY BASEMENT is a psychological thriller with a runtime of 1 hour and 55 minutes, which may sound long, but it works. Yes, it does mean the movie has elements that are classic slow-burning, but don’t let that fool you.
With Willem Dafoe in the title role, this plot will end up taking some wild turns. It’s a movie that requires a lot of its audience, so you need to pay attention and be open to the story beneath the story. The ending itself is wild!
Continue reading our The Man in My Basement movie review below. Find it in select theaters on September 12, 2025, and on Hulu & Disney+ later this Fall.
Desperate times call for desperate actions?!
In The Man in My Basement, we meet Charles Blakey (Corey Hawkins) just as his life is at an all-time low. He lives in a gorgeous, big house that has been in his family for eight generations.
Now, he’s about to lose this house, which would make him the reason this ancestral home won’t make it to the next generation.
Enter Anniston Bennet (Willem Dafoe) with an offer that Charles Blakey won’t be able to resist for long. Anniston Bennet wants to rent the dusty stand-up basement for 65 days.
It isn’t anything illegal, and he is offering enough money that all the debt on the house will be cleared. Of course, if something sounds too good to be true, there’s usually a catch.
There is a catch for this offer as well. However, it isn’t anything he could have anticipated or expected. Nor is it anything I want to spoil for you.
Please, do yourself a favor and avoid spoilers for The Man in My Basement. You’ll want to experience the crazy and intense ways this story escalates without too much prior information.
Trauma, grief, and guilt!
The Man in My Basement deals with several deep and dark themes. Mostly trauma and guilt, but also grief, which is often a part of both trauma and guilt. To some extent, anyway.
Maybe that’s why it reminded me of the movie The Woman in the Yard. And yes, I do realize the titles are also eerily similar, but trust me, the actual movies do differ wildly.
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It’s more about the themes, where The Man in My Basement focuses on trauma and guilt first, The Woman in the Yard is much more about grief as its primary driver.
I know not everyone was on board with The Woman in the Yard, and I’m a little nervous the same could be the case with The Man in My Basement. However, I believe Willem Dafoe will win over most…in storytelling terms, I mean!
Watch The Man in My Basement as soon as you can!
This new psychological thriller comes from director Nadia Latif, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Walter Mosley. Filmmaker Nadia Latif has crafted a wildly intense and dark story with this one!
Fortunately, the casting is also spot-on with Corey Hawkins and Willem Dafoe in the two key lead roles. Both deliver exactly what their respective characters need and leave the audience floored more than once during its runtime.
Also, the supporting cast is wonderful with Anna Diop (Nanny), Jonathan Ajayi (Alien: Earth), Pamela Nomvete, Gershwyn Eustache Jnr., and Tamara Lawrance (both from Get Millie Black).
The Man in My Basement enjoyed its World Premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival on September 5, 2025. It will be coming to Hulu from September 26, so you can also watch it then.
However, if you get the chance to watch it earlier, I recommend that you jump at it. Again, all to avoid spoilers and get the first-hand experience of this story.
The Man in My Basement is out in Select Theaters from September 12, 2025.
Details
Director: Nadia Latif
Screenplay: Walter Mosley & Nadia Latif
Cast: Corey Hawkins, Willem Dafoe, Anna Diop, Jonathan Ajayi, Gershwyn Eustache Jnr., Pamela Nomvete, Tamara Lawrance
Plot
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.
📺 Watch trailer
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