‘The Man in My Basement’ Review: Corey Hawkins and Willem Dafoe Lead a Lethargic Psychological Thriller That Only Gestures at Big Ideas

The psychological thriller “The Man in My Basement” adapts Walter Mosley’s 2004 novel of the same name, but yields little by way of intriguing psychology or thrills. Set in the quaint Long Island village of Sag Harbor — a historically African American community — it follows a young Black slacker whose inherited home becomes the venue for a middle-aged white man’s strange experiment, while gesturing at themes of guilt, trauma and racial animus that go nowhere anytime quick.

Mosley co-writes the screenplay alongside debuting director Nadia Latif, who shows immense promise early on, capturing the directionless young Charles Blakey (Corey Hawkins) as he antagonizes one of his pals for no good reason. There’s a simmering rage and self-loathing to Blakey, which Latif matches in the form of unpredictable camera motion, but these introductory moments are about as energetic as the movie ever gets.

Blakey, having inherited his mother’s isolated home and all her belongings,…