When Ohm Bauman, a horror novelist, retreats to a remote Irish inn to scatter his parents' ashes, he is consumed by tales of a witch haunting the honeymoon suite. Disturbing visions and a shocking disappearance force him to confront the dark corners of his past.
Where to Watch Hokum
- rg94005d agoHokum builds upon the director's prior excellent Oddity, delivering a rare movie that completely immerses me into the tension-filled atmosphere and has me actually feeling creeped out. Hokum is a lot of things, but one of my favorite aspects of it is its limited setting and cast. This Hitchock-esque approach to a locked room really heightens the tension and showcases how the director and production are able to fully maximize the actors and setting. Even if the cinematography is not necessarily flashy, I think the way the camera moves around the room, framing the different nooks and crannies throughout, showcases really strong technical proficiency. By the end of the movie, I felt like I could draw a map of the entire setting. Similarly, even if there are moments where the movie uses horror tropes to deliver jump scares, it also does such a good job in executing those tropes while sprinkling in some innovative imagery as well. I think the real quality of the movie shines outside of its jumpscares though, where every moment is laden with atmosphere. The other aspect of Hokum that I found really impressive is how it layers multiple different storylines on top of each other, with each one reflecting and drawing parallels with the others. There is a locked room murder mystery, a haunting, and a character struggling with his own traumas, and I thought the way each story was blended together was very clever. While I will say that I wish there was a bit more explicit examination of Adam Scott's character and his development through the movie, I think the thematic parallels and the way the movie is grounded in this intimate character study still makes for a compelling watch. He's great in the movie as well, showcasing both the character's agency and initiative as well as his fright in equal measures. Overall, I think Hokum is a fantastic watch. It could have been slightly better at the character level, but that's a minor complaint for an otherwise stellar tension-filled atmospheric movie that is doing some really interesting things.
- Hakihiko6d agoA Haunted House Built on Unease and Control "Hokum" is a tightly wound supernatural horror that thrives on atmosphere, restraint, and a constant sense of psychological imbalance. It's less interested in straightforward scares and more focused on sustaining a slow, creeping discomfort that sits underneath every interaction and every silence. The performances are the film's strongest anchor. The lead role is played with a carefully calibrated mix of arrogance and fragility, making the character difficult to like but compelling to follow. The supporting cast enhances the sense of isolation, often feeling like pieces of a world that operates by its own unsettling logic. Visually, the film is extremely controlled, using shadow, framing, and negative space to build tension rather than relying on spectacle. The setting becomes a character in itself, with the hotel's layout and mood constantly reinforcing the sense that something is slightly off. The sound design and music work in tandem with this, often doing more narrative work than dialogue. The writing leans into ambiguity and fragmentation, blending folklore, psychological tension, and mystery without fully committing to a single explanation. This gives the film a drifting, dreamlike quality, but also means that its structure can feel intentionally disjointed, as if you're never quite meant to settle into one interpretation or rhythm. There are moments where this ambiguity borders on frustration, particularly when certain threads feel underdeveloped or deliberately withheld. At times, the film's refusal to clarify itself can weaken the emotional payoff it seems to be building toward. In the end, "Hokum" stands as an atmospheric and unsettling piece of horror filmmaking that prioritizes mood and psychological pressure over clarity. It doesn't always fully land its ideas, but it leaves a lingering unease that feels very much intentional.
- Doc WormJuly 3, 2026If Hokum wasn’t shot with such high quality modern cinematography, it would fit neatly along side some of the supernatural classics on the 70s and 80s. A relatively simple haunted house story that wears its Stephen King influences on its sleeve, Hokum builds its tension evenly as it movies through its tale. Loved the color grading and the bookends to its story. A neat little package overall.
- Andy Davidson | folknhell.comMay 12, 2026A ghost story set in a folk horror environment. And what a horror! Plenty of jump scares and a masterful sense of growing unease. The story itself starts to fall apart when you look too closely, but in terms of a horror experience, with this, Oddity and Caveat Damian McCarthy is three for three
- RonMay 9, 2026this is that kind of slow-burn horror that really pulls you in. i actually liked it quite a bit. i’m a big fan of adam scott, even though his character in this is a total arsehole. the way the story unfolds keeps you completely locked in the whole time. it didn’t top oddity for me, but it’s still one of my favorite horror watches this year.
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Hokum was released on April 29, 2026.
Hokum was directed by Damian McCarthy.
Hokum has a runtime of 1h 47m.
Hokum was produced by Roy Lee, Steven Schneider, Derek Dauchy, Ruth Treacy, Mairtín de Barra, Julianne Forde.
When Ohm Bauman, a horror novelist, retreats to a remote Irish inn to scatter his parents' ashes, he is consumed by tales of a witch haunting the honeymoon suite. Disturbing visions and a shocking disappearance force him to confront the dark corners of his past.
The key characters in Hokum are Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott), Mal (Peter Coonan), Jerry (David Wilmot).
Hokum is rated R.
Hokum is a Horror, Thriller film.
Hokum has an audience rating of 8.2 out of 10.
Hokum had a budget of $5M.
Hokum has made $24.1M at the box office.