THE MAN IN MY BASEMENT

Charles Blakey (Corey Hawkins) is unemployed and facing the foreclosure of his ancestral family home. His luck seemingly changes when wealthy businessman Anniston Bennet (Willem Dafoe) knocks on his door with a proposal to rent out his neglected basement for sixty days. Lured by the promise of a large sum of cash, Charles accepts the too good to be true offer. The arrangement quickly spirals into a psychological battle of control between the two men, forcing Charles to confront the ghosts of the past. This film is 60% snooze fest and 40% sludge. The plot swings and misses, attempting to combine too many opposing elements that don’t add up to a whole. An entire storyline about artifacts in the house that appear to be cursed, evaporates without explanation. Both Bennet and Blakey make inexplicable decisions and their characters lack any real depth. At two hours long, it’s a hard, pretentious slog.