If you caught last summer’s The Last Voyage of the Demeter, you probably don’t need to be told that Corey Hawkins in actor with screen presence to spare, and if you’ve seen pretty much any Willem Dafoe movie over the course of your life, you know that the same goes for that guy, as well. What a gift, then, that we should be getting both of them in one, new horror movie.
According to Variety, Hawkins and Dafoe will headline Nadia Latif’s The Man in My Basement, based on the bestselling Walter Mosley psychological thriller of the same name. The pair have also been joined by Hawkins’ former 24: Legacy co-star, Anna Diop.
So, what’s The Man in My Basement about? Take it away, Variety:
“Hawkins stars in the movie as Charles Blakey, a man living in the African American neighborhood of Sag Harbor, who 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 white businessman, Anniston Bennet (Dafoe), brings a bizarre and lucrative proposition; rent his dusty stand-up basement out 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.”
Diop, meanwhile, will play a local academic and antiques expert by the name of Narciss Gully. Variety adds, “When she meets Charles Blakey and is introduced to what he pulls out of his basement, she realizes his family history may be what she’s always been looking for.” Does this sound as ominous to the rest of you as it does to us?
The Man in My Basement is headed for Hulu, though at present there’s no word on when we can expect to see it. No problem! That gives us plenty of time to catch up with Mosley’s novel, which sounds like one helluva read. While we’re doing that, do stay tuned for any further updates on The Man in My Basement as they become available (oh, and if you should encounter Willem Dafoe in your basement at any time, try not to make direct eye contact).
