MOVIE REVIEW – The great charm of Hokum is that it makes no attempt whatsoever to rebrand the entire horror genre. There are no new rules laid out by the film, no pretenses of groundbreaking approach or revolutionary plot twists. Instead, Damian McCarthy goes for a simple formula, relying on established conventions of the genre in a manner that demonstrates great control over them. The result is a well-made, unsettling supernatural horror that manages to outshine many overambitious genre entries without making a big fuss about it.

Ohm Bauman, a bitter novelist, travels to an Irish hotel to scatter the ashes of his parents. Even the setting seems to exude discomfort, and yet the movie chooses not to rush right into chaotic horror action. Instead, it sets up the oppressive atmosphere of the location, introduces the peculiar staff of the hotel, and unveils the story of the witch who resided in the honeymoon suite long ago. All of these elements come together in an intriguing combination, but Hokum also manages to develop the troubled past of its protagonist, adding another layer to the horror atmosphere that builds up in the film.

First of all, one has to say that this film does not overestimate its intelligence or sophistication. Instead of building an elaborate mythology for each new element, the movie introduces its elements sparingly, not making any attempt to explain them in a tedious, drawn-out fashion that makes the audience switch into puzzle solving mode. Rather, the movie focuses on slowly building atmosphere in a manner that never distracts from horror elements.

With Oddity, Damian McCarthy had already shown himself to have a knack for the dark horror atmosphere that comes with an appropriate set of horror tropes. With Hokum, he proves his mastery again, although, admittedly, not necessarily by improving on the previous film. Once again, he skillfully takes the audience along a twisted and dangerous path, managing the process of horror atmosphere building and release of scares very well.

It Doesn’t Scream at You, It Creeps Into Your Psyche

The best parts of Hokum are not the parts that shock through excesses of violence, loudness, or brutality, but rather those that create a sense of dread by skillfully building up the anticipation of a frightening event. Here, McCarthy perfectly understands that horror does not consist of sudden events but of those that are anticipated by the audience in advance, knowing that something is coming soon – but just not sure from where. A scare that emerges from such a setting is always more effective than anything else, and that is what makes this horror film so great.

Here, the role of sound design is paramount. Hokum masterfully utilizes elements such as silence, ambient noises, movement in the background, and other things that make the audience question their perception, wondering if they did hear or see something real or if that was merely their imagination playing tricks on them. In many ways, this is where the movie shows itself to be truly frightening by building its atmosphere on the fear of the unknown.

Moreover, Hokum never loses its pace, and that is a significant advantage of the film. While staying at a slow, deliberate pace, it still moves steadily from one scene to another, giving a persistent feeling that the viewer is advancing along the twisted route towards the worst possible ending. Such restrained and disciplined structure helps the movie greatly in building a sense of horror in the audience.

Adam Scott Finally Stops Winking at the Audience – and the Movie Is Better for It

On first sight, it would seem to be an unusual choice to put Adam Scott at the center of such a severe horror film. However, Hokum quickly changes the opinion about him. Ohm is not a carefree or likable man who is not afraid to express himself or to show his emotions. Instead, he comes across as a bitter, cynical person who is difficult to read. This is done very accurately and skillfully by Adam Scott, who does not force anything, not making any overacting gestures but simply letting his character act and speak.

In terms of the plot, Ohm becomes crucial for the movie, as he serves as the main source of its suspense for some time. Here, Scott performs his duties flawlessly, without trying too much to impress the audience with unnecessary displays of acting. Instead, he just presents the character realistically, which is more valuable in a film such as Hokum.

Overall, it should also be noted that the supporting cast does an excellent job here. In particular, there are no weak performances, and it is evident throughout the movie that McCarthy is aware of the importance of tonal consistency. Due to this reason, Hokum manages to avoid going to the extremes of horror comedy even when the supernatural story starts developing further.

It Doesn’t Posture as Art-Horror, It Just Scares You Properly

In many modern horror films, it somehow becomes embarrassing that the movie is made simply to scare its viewers. Apparently, one has to provide some deeper explanation for being a horror movie, some message hidden in it. In contrast, Hokum shows no shame of its status as a simple horror movie. While dealing with such subjects as grief and pain, unfinished history, and other things that are characteristic of supernatural horror, it still focuses on its purpose of scaring its viewers without trying to become something else.

This fits Hokum very well indeed. First of all, it is a horror film, and not an attempt at a completely new genre revolution. Secondly, it offers some good premises for a horror film, competent direction by McCarthy, and a decent leading performance by Adam Scott. On the basis of this, a competent horror film is created. True, there are several familiar elements here and not all scaring scenes manage to scare strongly enough, but overall, the film remains effective and well-controlled.

What Hokum demonstrates is that it does not invent anything extraordinary. It simply creates a horror film with great mastery by combining familiar horror elements effectively. The result is tense, competent, and unpleasantly scaring. In fact, right now, this is precisely what horror films require.

-Gergely Herpai “BadSector”-