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 ancestral artifacts from falling into the wrong hands or being sold out of a desperate need for money. It’s a story that is strong in theme but not in execution.