‘Hokum’ - a countryside creep show

By Jesse Burchill Staff Writer

Marcus Falcao / THE GATEPOST

Released on May 1, “Hokum” is a supernatural horror film written and directed by Damian McCarthy and starring Adam Scott, Peter Coonan, David Wilmot, Florence Ordesh, Michael Patric, and Will O’Connell. The film focuses on author Ohm Bauman (Scott) as he checks into a remote hotel in rural Ireland where his deceased parents had honeymooned, and which is rumored to have a witch imprisoned inside. Bauman’s planning to spread his parents’ ashes in the area and is working on the epilogue to his latest book. However, when the hotel’s bartender Fiona (Ordesh) goes missing, Bauman investigates the locked-off honeymoon suite for answers and ends up locked inside. From there, he must contend with not only the presence of the hotel’s witch, but also human evil and his own past. Scott is best known for the mockumentary sitcom “Parks and Recreation” and the sci-fi thriller series “Severance,” but “Hokum” is his first foray in full-on horror. He gives an excellent and subtle performance throughout as Bauman confronts his inner demons, and perfectly sells how Bauman gradually changes as a person over the film. Bauman begins the film as cold and bitter, but his experiences in the hotel help him overcome the grief and regret he’s felt for most of his life, and Scott makes it very believable. The film’s bookends between him and Alby the bellhop and aspiring writer were a nice way of showing how Bauman’s changed. Furthermore, every other member of the cast fulfills their roles perfectly, even though some of them do not have nearly as much screen time as others. It’s hard to say if I have a favorite character because everyone did so well in their performances. At its core, “Hokum” is a very human-focused drama about Bauman’s inner struggle with guilt and grief, with the supernatural elements serving to underscore and highlight how he changes over the course of the film. In terms of pacing, this movie is very much a slow burn, but in a good way. The pacing allows for an interesting analysis of Bauman and the other characters, and the more frightening scenes are drawn out enough to instill a great sense of dread without dragging the film down. There are also several jumpscares accompanied by sudden loud noises or music, and while they’re mostly “boo, scary face” scares, they’re placed so well within their respective scenes that they’re still effectively frightening. The witch within the hotel has very little screentime in the grand scheme of the movie, but the creep factor is turned up to 11 every time she appears. Almost nothing is known about her aside from the foreshadowing of a folk tale early in the film, but that arguably makes her even scarier. She’s effectively the boogeyman in a way, and how her face is obscured in most of her scenes certainly helps. Damian McCarthy’s previous films “Caveat” and “Oddity” were also set in remote locations, and it’s clear that he’s used his previous experience to craft another effective close-quarters nightmare. The movie is largely confined to the hotel, its honeymoon suite, and its basement - and it works. The concept of the middle of nowhere as a setting is fairly common in horror, but McCarthy’s use of this trope is executed very well. There’s a unique sense of claustrophobia in the film, aided by the fact that Bauman has literally no way to leave for most of the film and has to confront the horrors head-on. In the end, everything comes together perfectly to make “Hokum” a wonderfully unsettling experience with an excellent analysis of grief and growth. Rating: A+ A remote and riveting horror ride