Hokum Review

Hokum is an Irish-American horror film that sees Adam Scott travelling to the Emerald Isle.

Ohm Bauman (Scott) is an American author who travels to Ireland to scatter his parents’ ashes and stays in the same hotel they did. Ohm’s life is saved by Fiona (Florence Ordesh), a hotel worker, when the author tried to take his own life. However, when Ohm returns to the hotel, he’s told that Fiona has disappeared, so he sets out to find her.

There has been a lot of buzz around Hokum. It premiered at SXSW and received an 86% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The teaser trailer was impressive because it was creepy and didn’t spoil any of the film. It has been distributed by Neon in the USA and Black Bear in the UK and Ireland, which gives the film some prestige. It has been released as part of a wave of elevated horror.

Hokum was a sub-genre hybrid. It was a folk horror film, a ghost story, a mystery, and a haunted hotel flick. There was a risk that the film could have been a hotchpotch: look at Shelby Oaks, which came across as four different films sewn together. Hokum was able to mix its styles more effectively. Hokum was Damian McCarthy’s third feature as a director, and this offering was eerie. There were a lot of creepy images, especially the dolls with tortured faces: they were haunting. McCarthy knew how to add tension, like when Ohm was stuck in a hotel room. McCarthy showed how jump scares can be done. He used scary images and the soundtrack, and did not rely on loud noises.

Hokum followed the old folk horror trope of an outsider coming to a strange, mythic land. It worked in The Wicker Man. Hokum follows an example set by The Watchers, where an American travels to the Irish wilderness to face a creature from folklore. There was also some Stephen King in the film since the main character was a traumatised author. The Shining and Misery come to mind since Ohm was dealing with his issues in the hotel and finishing his popular series.

Ohm was a man suffering from guilt and grief, and the film was about him needing to overcome these issues. He was responsible for his mother’s death, and he has never gotten over it. He suffered from visions that reminded the author of what he had done. It led to some creepy imagery.

Adam Scott has become a recognisable actor thanks to his lead role in Severance. He had a juicy role as a man with a nihilistic outlook and was famous for writing bleak stories. Scott initially played an unlikeable character who went around lecturing the locals, and being a dick to the hotel’s bellboy. He became a more sympathetic character after his suicide attempt. That increased because when Ohm went on the search for Fiona, he was forced to face his own demons as well as a witch. An important moment early in the film was when Ohm scattered his parents’ ashes, since it visually showed what he thought of them.

Fiona and Jerry (David Wilmot) were also notable characters. Fiona was the most compassionate character, concerned about Ohm despite his attitude problems, and the only person who was nice to Jerry. Jerry was a man who lived on the fringes of society, and Fiona was the only person who was kind to him. Jerry became an ally in the search for Fiona. He had a quirk of mixing moonshine with magic mushrooms.

Hokum was one of the best horror films of 2026, so far. It was able to mix genres, which led to an atmospheric film that blended personal trauma and an Irish ghost story.