Hokum (2026)
Directed by: Damian McCarthy
Premise: A writer (Adam Scott) stays at an Irish hotel to scatter his parent’s ashes. He investigates the disappearance of a hotel employee.
What Works: Hokum is a horrific adult fairytale. The movie uses a classic horror and fairytale conceit in which a stranger visits a rural hotel and discovers a terrible secret. In this case, part of the hotel is cordoned off because it is believed to be haunted by a witch (Sioux Carroll). The contrast between a contemporary American protagonist and the rustic Irish setting creates a sense that we are entering a self-contained fairytale world complete with its own reality and community. There are some interesting supporting characters, especially a local with a penchant for magic mushrooms (David Wilmot). Hokum’s fairytale qualities complement the horror. The film is quite scary. This is a haunted house picture and it’s well shot, using light and shadow effectively, and the sound mix is spooky. Hokum’s atmosphere of dread is infused with grief. Adam Scott plays a writer whose parents have died. During his stay at the hotel he becomes aware of a local legend and later one of the hotel employees disappears. Scott plays the role well. The writer is not a likable guy but he has a growing conscience and Scott gives the character an interior life that suggests there is more to his unpleasantness. We gradually learn more about the writer’s relationship to his mother and the filmmakers smartly dole out the exposition, using flashbacks and visions to fill in the writer’s backstory. The witch, the mystery of the disappeared employee, and the writer’s backstory come together organically in a way that is very satisfying.
What Doesn’t: Hokum appears to take place in the present day but cell phones are curiously absent from the story. The absence is not commented upon but in a few instances the character’s problems could be solved by a phone call. Hokum has a cast of colorful characters but that distinction is not afforded to the female roles. They are essentially props in the storytelling. The ending of Hokum concludes the main mystery but the events of the finale suggest a larger question. It seems that the witch living underneath the hotel has been unleashed onto the world but this is not addressed.
Bottom Line: Hokum is a well-made horror picture. It’s frightening and surprising but also has moments of humanity and grief.
Episode: #1098 (May 10, 2026)