The Man in My Basement Review- A Thriller That Fails to Unearth Its Promise

A good book and a stellar cast rarely guarantee a successful book-to-film adaptation, as The Man in My Basement clearly demonstrates.​

Originally written by Walter Mosley, the novel holds a Goodreads rating of 3.69. Here is our The Man in My Basement review — one that will help you decide whether it’s worth setting aside two hours to stream or skipping it altogether.

Plot details of The Man in My Basement (2025)

Charles Blakey (played by Corey Hawkins) is out of luck and is struggling financially. One day, he gets a knock on his ancestral home, and he rents its basement to a mysterious businessman, Anniston Bennet (Willem Dafoe).

Mr. Bennet has a strange proposition for Blakey- he should rent out his basement for the summer and receive enough money to clear his debts. The proposal seems too attractive to refuse, and Blakey accepts it.​

However, that’s when the real trouble begins. With Bennet’s arrival, he’s forced to confront his family’s ghosts and unearth the cultural and historical artifacts he had long ignored.​

Watch the trailer here to get a closer look:

Actors’ performances in The Man in My Basement (2025)​

With Willem Dafoe and Corey Hawkins on board, the film could have been explosive. Scenes in the basement are unnerving, but the script and pacing do not do justice to building the overall film’s impression.

​Dafoe’s performance could be considered as a dynamite where he presented himself as a calm and composed businessman, whereas deep down, he is a menace. His smile, which appears peaceful yet sinister, has the ability to crawl under your skin.​

On the other hand, Corey Hawkins as Blakey portrays sadness and desperation beautifully. His complex emotional landscape depicts his fragility as a man stuck between his own questionable decisions.​

There is no doubt that these actors’ on-screen chemistry has created an electrifyingly dark atmosphere in the basement. Their interactions were the real strength of the film, which built psychological tension and convincing performances.​

What do critics add to The Man in My Basement review?

With only 48 reviews at the time of writing, The Man in My Basement did not earn positive reviews from the critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics acknowledged that the film had much to offer and had much to praise about, but somehow, it didn’t check all the boxes.

With Latif’s wonderful directorial touches, the critics found power dynamics and racial tension playing well along the storyline. She was able to make sounds of everyday objects terrifying, so that pulse-pounding tension stays intact.

Still, the critics thought that with a considerable promise, Latif could not deliver something “unforgettable,” and the thriller remained stuck somewhere in the middle.

Indie Wire also reviewed it as:

“Latif’s version piles on all sorts of other elements, muddling the power of Mosley’s original story…The devil isn’t just on the screen, it’s in the details, and Latif’s film can’t pull those together.”  [Source]

Fans’ reaction

The general audience gave worse ratings for the film as they believed the film’s concept had potential, but “the execution fell short”. One of the reviews called it “seriously disappointing” as having brilliant actors like Dafoe seemed pointless.

It looked like a desperate attempt to appear “strange or symbolic” while making the whole story “meaningless and confusing”. The beginning looked promising, but the book-to-film adaptation must have been a disappointment for the author, they cited.

Is it worth watching?​

Honestly, even with Willem Dafoe in the cast, I wouldn’t recommend watching The Man in My Basement — it’s one you can safely skip. From the opening scenes, I noticed the pacing struggles to hook you, and it looked like an inert attempt with reliance on psychotic delusions to do the heavy lifting of making it a horror film.  ​

Where the audience reviews mentioned that the film created a good, creepy atmosphere at the beginning, I found the film’s first thirty minutes quite boring. I struggled to keep my eyes and ears attentive, trying to follow what the story had to offer and where it was heading.​

Nadia Latif is known for her previous projects like White Girls (2019) and Cuplrits (2023). While she does not have a vast track record as a director, it seemed hard for her to keep up with the expectations of her feature directorial debut.

Themes of power, control, race, Black masculinity, dealing with depression, grief, intergenerational trauma, ancestry, colonial history, legacy, the real meaning of good and evil, and having the supreme power of choosing between doing right and omitting wrong seem to be more than what has been accomplished in the film.

Since the novel has an advantage over the film in explaining everything in detail, no matter how long it may take the reader longer to finish it. The film only gives you two hours to understand the intertwining of all these threads of themes with deeper complexity, sometimes making it hard for the general audience to decipher.​

This could be the reason that the overall meaning of the film seems to be lost, and the audience fails to engage with the film as the director might have expected. The result? An underwhelming response and low ratings.​

What we liked

• Strong actors’ performances
• Atmospheric setting
• Director’s stylistic touches

What could be better

• Weak pacing and execution
• Underwhelming adaptation
• Overcomplicated themes
• Lack of emotional engagement
• Missed potential

Here’s a detailed breakdown of our rating for The Man in My Basement (2025):

Story/plot	2/10
Characters and acting	4/10
Direction and pacing	4/10
Visuals and cinematography	4/10
Soundtrack/score	3/10
Themes and message	3/10
Emotional impact	2/10
Creativity/originality	2/10
Rewatchability	1/10

Our rating: 3/10

 

 

 

 

 

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Is The Man in My Basement (2025) available for online streaming?

Yes, The Man in My Basement (2025) (R-rated) is available for online streaming on Hulu and Disney+. It is also available for rental and purchase on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and Fandango. 

Genre: Horror, mystery, thriller

IMDb rating: 4.7

Rotten Tomatoes: 40 percent on Tomatometer (critics’ score) and 26 percent on Popcornmeter

Cast: Willem Dafoe, Corey Hawkins, Jonathan Ajayi

Director: Nadia Latif

Writers: Walter Mosley, Nadia Latif

Producers: Dave Bishop, Diane Houslin, John Giwa-Amu, Len Rowles

Release date: September 12, 2025

Movie runtime: 1 hour 55 minutes

After reading our review, do you think Willem Dafoe’s performance alone is worth streaming this film? Leave your thoughts below.