Good, uh, scary movie (CREDIT: NEON)
Starring: Adam Scott, Peter Coonan, David Wilmot, Florence Ordesh, Will O’Connell, Michael Patric, Brendan Conroy, Austin Amelio, Ezra Carlisle, Mallory Adams
Director: Damian McCarthy
Running Time: 107 Minutes
Rating: R for Disturbing Buried Secrets and Portrayals of Self-Harm
Release Date: May 1, 2026 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: Successful American author Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott) is on the cusp of completing his latest novel about a conquistador (Austin Amelio) and a boy (Ezra Carlisle) stuck in the desert. But first, he must travel to Ireland to spread his parents’ ashes. Unfortunately for him, the Emerald Isle is a much spookier and dangerous locale than he bargained for. He is warned that one of the rooms at the sylvan hotel he is staying at is haunted, and when one of the employees (Florence Ordesh) goes missing after a Halloween party, it seems like there might be something to those spooky warnings. Or it could just be a case of earthbound, human evil. Or possibly a mix of both. In any case, Ohm takes it upon himself to play amateur detective alongside a local eccentric forest dweller (David Wilmot) to find out what’s really going on.
What Made an Impression?: Living on the Rift: If momentum is any indication, then Irish filmmaker Damian McCarthy (whose name is sometimes spelled with a space between the “Mc” and the “Carthy”) is well on his way to becoming one of my new favorite horror auteurs. Hokum feels like a natural extension of his 2024 creepfest Oddity (which was modest, but packed quite the punch). Both films capture that liminal space between real and unreal, steady and unmoored. McCarthy’s characters find themselves on the edge, with the walls that should be comfy and protective instead closing in on them. He’s an adept conjurer of remarkable dread, and it’s an honor to be invited to see the show.
And This is Scott: Adam Scott is probably best known to general audiences for being fed up with everything on Severance or for giving cutie-pie energy on Parks and Recreation. But I love him best for his contributions to very silly podcasts. You might think then that I could never take him seriously as the lead of a movie like Hokum, but it turns that he is (somewhat counterintuitively) perfect as both a cynical writer and someone reckoning with the fact that the world might be more supernatural than he would ever care to admit. In my experience, everything is ridiculous to Adam Scott, and that’s a sneakily effective starting point for a mystery that forces you to open your mind.
A Bundle of Craic: Other than Mr. Scott, Hokum‘s cast is filled with folks I’ve never heard of. But they must be reliable veterans of Irish showbiz, because they all undeniably deliver the goods. Standouts include Wilmot as the woodsman Jerry, whose ragged appearance belies the fact that he represents perhaps the movie’s most fundamental message. Will O’Connell is also essential as the bellhop Alby, meek but full of layers. Florence Ordesh is unfortunately not around too much before her character of Fiona goes missing, but she makes her presence unforgettable. Simply put, all the pieces are in place for you to find the truth in Hokum.
Hokum is Recommended If You Like: Oddity, The Witch, Conquering nightmares and underlying traumas
Grade: 4 out of 5 Disappearances
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