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Hokum Review
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Directed By: Damian McCarthy
Written By: Damian McCarthy
Runtime: 111 minutes
MPA Rating: Rated R for some violent/disturbing content and language
Adam Scott – Ohm Bauman
Peter Coonan – Mal
David Wilmot – Jerry
Florence Ordesh – Fiona
Will O’Connell – Alby
Michael Patric – Fergal
Will O’Connell – Alby
Brendan Conroy – Cob
Mallory Adams – Mrs. Bauman
Sioux Carroll – Witch
The emotionally depressed writer Ohm Bauman (Scott) runs afoul of a malevolent witch at a haunted Irish hotel in Damian McCarthy’s new horror movie, Hokum. Despite the eerie setup and a suitably dreary locale, Hokum never quite reaches the haunts and scares it unsuccessfully purports.
Hokum stars Scott as a disconsolately depressed novelist, Bauman. Bauman’s popular book trilogy nears completion, but he’s having trouble getting to the ending. On a whim, he decides to travel to the Irish woods where his late parents visited for their honeymoon, seeking some modicum of peace, or perhaps inspiration.
Upon arrival, Bauman learns that the Bilberry Woods Hotel is home to a nefarious witch, as the crone was supposedly trapped in the cordoned-off honeymoon suite. Of course, Bauman doesn’t believe in such “hokum,” finding it all to be general nonsense.
A shocking event brings Bauman back to the hotel sometime later, as he discovers one of the hotel staff, the remarkably generous and kind Fiona (Ordesh), is missing. Bauman and the local vagrant, Jerry (Wilmot), seek to get to the bottom of Fiona’s disappearance. However, it means breaking into the hotel at night and sneaking into the honeymoon suite, where the witch supposedly resides.
Bauman soon becomes trapped in the room with no means of escape, where he’s confronted by the spectral crone, as well as some deeply traumatic events from his childhood that continue haunting him as an adult. In an atmosphere fraught with peril and danger, Bauman discovers a shocking revelation and a close encounter with the supernatural, or is it?
McCarthy does allow for an interesting level of ambiguity regarding how the plot unfolds in Hokum, but despite its somewhat artisanal, elevated approach to horror, the movie never quite reaches those heights.
Adam Scott valiantly seeks to break away from typecasting in an atmospheric horror flick, but he comes off as woefully out of his depth here. His performance as Bauman lacks grounded realism.
Scott’s overall attitude and demeanor come off more like that of a sitcom character who has been transplanted into a horror movie, rather than an author struggling with his mental health who happens to become trapped in a hotel haunted by a witch. As a result, Scott’s performance fails to draw and lure in the audience further, burdening the plot’s sense of immersion. It’s a mild case of miscasting.
Ireland’s Bilberry Woods Hotel certainly provides a strong setting and locale for the narrative, but McCarthy fails to fully bring out its majesty. Additionally, McCarthy’s style tends to heavily favor jump scares that come off as rather cheap and overt, feeling unearned.
Despite the promising setup, the premise involving the witch comes off as window dressing. The plot then falls back more on mystery tropes, and the witch haunting is more incidental than anything else, creating disappointment.
Early on in the movie, McCarthy takes a pretty huge swing when a shocking event takes place. The scene provides an unexpected moment that’s certainly surprising. However, the moment raises too many questions that are never adequately addressed, coming off more as an execution for cheap shock value, much like many of the scares throughout the film.
The main problem with Hokum is that it fails to ever truly become genuinely scary due to cheap jump scares and shocks. Even the ending comes off like a ham-fisted way for McCarthy to have his cake and eat it too, in an off-putting way. Despite initial promise and a ghastly setting, Hokum never reaches greater heights.
Where To Watch Hokum
Hokum hits theaters on May 1. Ticket and showtime details are available at the movie’s website.
