Bright Okpocha popularly known as Basketmouth surprised everyone when he posted a spooky movie poster on his Instagram page announcing the impending release of his debut feature film titled The Exorcism of Alu. What was more surprising was the fact that he was moving away from his comic genre unlike his counterpart Ay Makun who directed the hit comedy movie, 30 Days in Atlanta.
Following Basketmouth’s announcement, fans were eager to see if this comedy juggernaut whose forte was making people laugh their hearts out could pull off making them scream their lungs out. The anticipation was high, especially after seeing The Exorcism of Alu’s mysterious trailer that started off with informing viewers that the movie is based on a real-life story that took place in Kaduna in 1998.
We all know how truly scary these horror movies culled from true events can be, remember The Conjuring? The thought that someone actually experienced those terrifying incidents portrayed in the movie usually deepens the fear.
Basketmouth’s thriller/horror movie promised to deliver something different than what’s obtainable in Nollywood’s lo-fi scary movies like Nneka the Serpent. With a diverse cast that included Sound Sultan, Rekiya Yusuf, Winona Crawford, Tevez Houston, Jamie Whitehouse and many more, the anticipation for Basketmouth’s The Exorcism of Alu skidded to another level.
Basketmouth said he waited till he was done producing the movie before breaking the news of his directorial bent because a lot of people were skeptical about his move.
“For 6yrs I’ve been working on my very first feature film, my most challenging project…I kept it on the low because everyone I told, doubted my ability to pull it off.”
Well, it’s been 5 months since Basketmouth promised that we will have The Exorcism of Alu in cinemas closest to us and till now, we’ve seen nothing. While some people have even forgotten Basketmouth announced the release of a movie, many people can’t stop wondering what exactly happened to the exorcism of Alu.
Basketmouth stated on his Instagram post that his horror/thriller movie will be released in cinemas across Nigeria on January 15. Is it safe to conclude that the Exorcism of Alu has been buried and forgotten since we’ve not heard a word about it since January? Surely, something that a busy person like Basketmouth dedicated “six years” of his life to won’t go out unseen just like that.
On January 15, 2019, Basketmouth lightheartedly accused the rapper Falz of making him postpone the delivery date for The Exorcism of Alu.
“@falzthebahdguy hope you are aware that I pulled out from releasing my movie today because of this your album!! Abeg, next time de tell person say your album go hot like this. Yeye de smell.”
Wrote Basketmouth.
Falz released his buzzy album titled Moral Instruction at that time—the album stole hearts as literally, everyone was talking about the hot social topics that Falz rapped about.
Judging from that, it won’t be farfetched to assume that Basketmouth is waiting to release his movie when the country becomes silent again—when there is no big event competing for Nigerian’s attention. After Falz’s album, the national elections cropped up followed by the Game of Thrones finale which recently concluded last Sunday, May 19—Nigerians have been busy.
And unfortunately, fans may still have to wait a while longer for Basketmouth’s The Exorcism of Alu. Apparently, Basketmouth wants everyone’s attention and the upcoming controversial reality show, Big Brother Naija set to begin in June erases the possibility of that.
