Hokum is the latest horror film from director Damian McCarthy, who just a few years ago gave us the supernatural horror film Oddity, and before that, the film Caveat. Oddity is really what put McCarthy on the map for me. I thought: here’s a guy who understands how to take what we’ve seen before and do something unique with it. Oddity was one of my favorite horror films of 2024, so when the chance to see McCarthy’s newest film early fell into my lap, I couldn’t help but react like the statue from Oddity. Just petrified with anticipation.

And if you’re looking for something that just has that old school horror feel with a contemporary approach, Hokum is the movie for you. A lot of what I appreciated about McCarthy’s previous film returns here in spades, giving us a tense, creative haunted house flick that plays with your mind and gets under your skin. While light on the disturbing imagery, the film makes up for it with expertly paced sequences of looming dread that actually pay off with some of the more effective jump scares I’ve seen in a minute. If I’m honest, I enjoyed a lot more of the out-there creativity of Oddity, this is still finely distilled Irish folk horror in its purest form. I knew there was something strange going on with a country that only drinks Guiness.

Depressed American author Ohm Bauman decides to make the long overdue trip to the Irish hotel his parents honeymooned at in order to spread their ashes. But, like most old hotels, some things just don’t feel right. After some odd occurrences, a disappearance and the theory of a witch living in the locked-away honeymoon suite, Ohm finds himself trapped in a nightmare as he must try to survive the hotel’s horrors while also battling the demons he brought along with him.

Man, is Adam Scott a dick in this. For me, he’s always just gonna be goofy, lovable Ben Wyatt from Parks and Rec for me, but projects like Severance and this are all the proof you need to believe there’s more range to him than you may think. Scott’s Ohm Bauman is a rather difficult character to make work, because he comes with both a lot of baggage and a bad attitude that he takes out on the kind employees of the hotel. You do learn more about why he’s like this later in the film, but the movie really tests how much sympathy you can give a main character like this. There’s honestly this interesting balance where you want to see Ohm get the crap scared out of him, but you also want to see him make it out okay as well. It’s a prickly character that can be tough to execute, but I think both McCarthy and Scott do an excellent job with that for the most part.

We’ll get into why the horror in this is so great in just a second, but I also want to give props to how funny the film can be too. After a very somber and dark film like Oddity, it was nice to see a little bit of comedy injected into McCarthy’s work. A lot of it comes from the phenomenal supporting characters, from the sheepish bellhop played by Will O’Connell to the moonshine and mushroom consuming drifter played by David Wilmot. The comedy adds a nice bit of a reprieve from the more dark and depressing moments of the film, which there are quite a few of. But the impact of those moments isn’t undercut by the little bits of humor, so these moments are okay in my book.

But the horror of this film is pure haunted house-core. There’s a lot of bumping around in the night to be seen and heard, and the film is smart enough not to overplay its hand too early on. Ohm is plagued by visions of his dead mother, distant wailings and dark memories that begin to manifest themselves in frightening ways. I dunno what’s going on with that rabbit, but get it away from me. Like I said earlier, every scare is paced and presented super well. The film really knows how to get you hanging onto every creak and every movement going on in the background, and more often than not, you get some satisfying payoff in the form of actually good jump scares. Although sometimes it does feel like the film is trying to throw in more of them to fill a quota, they aren’t egregiously forced like in many modern horror movies. 

Like Oddity, Hokum makes great use of its primary setting, with the sections of the hotel being meticulously designed to fit the narrative without going too far beyond the realm of believability. Once Ohm makes it to the honeymoon suite is where you really start to see this at play. A lot of thought was put into the room layout and the little pieces that later shape how the story progresses. I love single location films that put a lot of thought into their rooms, and this film is another great example of that.

I do have some minor hang ups with this, despite me pretty much enjoying the entire thing. There’s an underlying theme of trauma, grief and atoning for your sins that I think doesn’t entirely coincide with the plot all that well. It does add some depth to Ohm for sure, but the way it’s integrated into the story, both through Ohm’s novel and his visions of his mother, kind of felt a little forced to me, but not enough where it felt like the film was reaching for something it couldn’t obtain. Additionally, for how great the tension and looming dread is in the film, I did find the big realization to what was going on to be a tad underwhelming. It’s a lot more open ended than I was expecting, but it still felt like more could have been given. I think Oddity did a much more interesting job at building towards big reveals in a unique way, but this felt a lot more straightforward.

That being said, Hokum takes a pretty simplistic idea and setup and elevates it thanks to a lot of different elements working in harmony. Ample attention is put on making every character feel genuine and realized, while the scares are thrown at you smartly and intentionally, feeling more than earned rather than just an expectation. This is a lot of fun with some solid crowd pleasing moments, but it has enough of an edge to still remain dark and ominous. Weirdly this kinda made me want to go back to Ireland. I dunno, the vibes of being haunted and sent to hell in Ireland just sound way more appealing than in the states.

RATING

IRISH HONEYMOON

What’s scarier than an old Celtic witch? Saying “I do!” (unless my wife is reading this, who I am much more scared of than any hag). But we can water down all those fears with this cocktail inspired by the beautiful country of Ireland and all the medicinal compounds its given us. This drink is loosely inspired by a batch of mushroom-laced goat milk that plays a somewhat pivotal role in the film. The Irish Honeymoon is lightly creamy, crisp and has an ever so slight botanical note to it. You’ll be feeling like you’re on your honeymoon every time you have this, and your blood alcohol level will most likely be just as high.

INGREDIENTS

• 2oz Irish whiskey
• 1oz apple juice
• 1/2oz honey syrup
• 1/4oz lemon juice
• 1/4oz Benedictine
• 1/2oz half and half
• garnish: apple chip heart

INGREDIENTS

1. Add ingredients to a shaker and shake to chill.
2. Strain into coup glass.
3. Garnish with two apple chips, skewered with a toothpick to make them look like a heart.