The 50th edition of TIFF this September boasts one of the festival’s most impressive lineups yet, including notable titles in its Primetime, Midnight Madness, and Discovery sections. Among them? “The Man In My Basement,” a new Walter Mosley adaptation that promises to be one of the best films in the Discovery lineup.
Based on Mosley’s novel of the same name, “The Man In My Basement” stars Corey Hawkins as a desperate man who makes a questionable deal with Willem Dafoe‘s businessman that unveils a terrifying truth about his family legacy.
Here’s an official synopsis for “The Man In My Basement,” courtesy of Andscape:
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.
Along with Hawkins and Dafoe, the film also stars Anna Diop, Jonathan Ajayi, Gerswhyn Eustache Jr., Pamela Nomvete, and Tamara Lawrance.
Nadia Latif directs a script by her and Mosley for “The Man In My Basement.” Producers on the film include Diane Houslin, John Giwa-Amu, Len Rowlands, and Dave Bishop.
As noted earlier, “The Man In My Basement” has its world premiere at TIFF 2025 before it hits select theaters on September 12. The psychological trailer then streams exclusively on Hulu later this Fall. Watch a trailer for the film below.
