Walter Mosley’s 2004 novel, The Man in My Basement, is a psychological thriller with a brilliant setup. Charles Blakey is a single, unemployed, depressed Black man in his 30s with few friends, living alone in his family’s home in Sag Harbor, New York. Fired from his bank-teller job for embezzling a few hundred dollars, he’s found it impossible to get hired by any local businesses. He’s now flat broke; he took out a mortgage on the house, which has been in his family for seven generations, and he’s in danger of losing it if something doesn’t change very soon. Then, a stranger appears at his door. Anniston Bennet, a wealthy white man from Greenwich, Connecticut, has an unusual request: He wants to rent Blakey’s basement and live in it for roughly two months, for which he’ll pay a handsome sum (later revealed to be nearly $50,000). Blakey refuses at first, but later reconsiders—and the apparently simple transaction becomes far more complicated when Bennet reveals some strange, secret plans for his stay.  

Unfortunately, after this stunning initial plot turn, the narrative offers few surprises. It’s a problem that carries over to a new film adaptation, starring Corey Hawkins and multiple Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe. It premieres on Hulu on September 26.

Mosley is best known for his long-running series of hardboiled mysteries featuring Los Angeles private eye Easy Rawlins, starting with his debut novel, 1990’s Devil in a Blue Dress; the 17th and latest entry, Gray Dawn, was published this month. He’s also published books in other genres, including science fiction; 2010’s The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, which received a Kirkus star, is a particular highlight. Many of his stories, regardless of genre, examine the nuances of the evil that men do, and The Man in My Basement is no exception—indeed, it does so in such as straightforward manner that there’s little room for nuance: One character is preoccupied with examining a life of evil deeds, while another tries to find meaning in a world in which such evil exists. Ultimately, though, neither reaches a compelling conclusion, which many readers will find frustrating.

The novel does vexingly little with its premise. Bennet’s disturbing proposition puts Blakey in a very difficult spot; if the truth of the arrangement were ever discovered, Blakey would be in deep trouble with the law. However, aside from a few passing, suspenseful moments, nothing comes of this; it’s easy to imagine a livelier version of the story in which Blakey is driven to murder—or multiple murders—to hide his secret. Sadly, that’s not the kind of story that Mosley wants to tell; he seems far more interested in following his solitary narrator’s ruminations, and his winding, philosophical conversations with Bennet, who, in significant ways, recalls author Thomas Harris’ notorious embodiment of evil—the imprisoned serial killer Hannibal Lecter.

All this makes for a diverting enough read, but its rather stage-bound structure seems uncinematic; after all, the majority of the tale takes place within the confines of Blakey’s house. The new film version, adapted by Mosley and director Nadia Latif, attempts to remedy this by spending more time on themes that the novel only glancingly addresses. For example, Blakey cleans out his basement before Bennet’s arrival and finds a number of valuable antiques, including three hand-carved African masks. In the both the book and film, he asks a local antique expert, Narciss Gully, to examine the masks with an eye toward selling them; she advises him to keep them, as they’re a link to his ancestors. In the film, though, the masks become the focus of dreamlike, hallucinatory sequences, apparently generated by Blakey’s conflicted feelings about his past. At times, it almost seems as if the movie is moving into supernatural territory—but it’s just a way to make the static story more visually engaging.

This is a very faithful adaptation, for better or for worse; those wishing for more incident won’t get it here. The main draw of the film, though, is the lead performances by two actors at the very top of their games. Hawkins, as Blakey, has a dynamic, intense presence onscreen; he memorably starred in the short-lived but action-packed 2017 spy series 24: Legacy, and he’s since delivered excellent supporting performances in movie musicals such as 2021’s In the Heights and 2023’s The Color Purple. Dafoe, meanwhile, finds surprising layers in a part that could easily have been cartoonish in the wrong hands; his uncanny performance makes the vile Bennet frightening and pathetic, by turns. These talented actors manage to unlock the best parts of the novel and set them free.

David Rapp is the senior Indie editor.