After making a sizable splash with his previous critical darlings Caveat and Oddity, writer/director Damian Mc Carthy returns with his third feature Hokum, a haunting horror film bathing in Irish folklore that provides plenty of thrills and chills for hungry horror fans as it carves its own singular entry in the genre.
Hokum centers on a moderately successful novelist named Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott) who travels overseas to a cozy Irish inn to scatter the remains of his parents ashes. However, little does he know that the hotel may be haunted by an insidious witch. On paper, the film reads like a typical cliche haunted house style horror film, but fortunately thanks to Mc Carthy’s deft touch it plays like anything but.
It’s clear from the early frames of the film that the audience is in capable and talented hands. Mc Carthy isn’t afraid of taking his time establishing the tone, atmosphere and setting of his story, carefully and methodically placing the pieces on his spooky chess board before hitting the ground running. Through the stellar production design, cinematography and sound design, the walls of this seemingly cozy Irish inn feel as if they’re dripping with dread and secrets throughout. Mc Carthy’s direction is wonderfully playful as well, using negative space and lighting to make the audience’s imagination their own worst enemy, making them feel as if every frame could contain a jolt that will send their faces hurling into their hands for safety and security.
As for the chills and thrills, horror fans will have plenty to relish here. Mc Carthy has terrific instincts when it comes to scares, expertly building up suspense and tension to a dizzying degree before punctuating it with a jump scare that not only feels rightfully earned, but inspired as well. Very few of the scares in the film fall flat, each jump scare beautifully implemented as Ohm’s journey becomes more and more precarious and horrifying. By the film’s engrossing second act, it felt as if there were chilling haunts lurking around every corner and behind any door frame. Mc Carthy’s choice to interweave fascinating Irish folklore throughout the story also helps the film feel far more distinct and refreshing, relying less on heavily treaded tropes and cliches. The haunted history of the hotel combined with Ohm’s personal journey creates a dastardly and emotionally compelling concoction that is impossible not to get swept away by.
Speaking of Ohm, Scott had his work cut out for him here, saddled with a protagonist who is mostly repugnant and offputting early on. Thankfully, he’s able to not only effectively sell the horror and fear Ohm experiences as he becomes literally and metaphorically drenched in the hotel’s haunted history, but is able to convey the character’s repressed trauma and grief that bubbles to the surface as his life is constantly put in peril as well. Scott has always been an underrated dramatic force and he continues to prove his versatility and gravitas here, taking a character that could’ve easily been one-note in another actor’s hands and imbuing him with enough humanity and pathos to make Ohm a character worth becoming emotionally invested in despite his heavily apparent flaws and shortcomings.
Fortunately, the film has very few issues holding it back. The first act can be a little lumbering and sluggish as it sets up the central conceit and overall atmosphere of the story, but thankfully once the second act takes shape, pacing is an issue of the past as the film hits the gas pedal with a heavy foot in the best way possible. Also, though the film is littered with some of the best jump scares in recent memory, there are several occasions where some of them do underwhelm and fall flat. However, those disappointments are few and far between, the ratio of thrilling hits to lackluster misses heavily favoring the former.
4 out of 5 stars.
Hokum may be a little bit slow out of the gate, but once it settles in and plants its spooky Irish roots, it gets its hooks into the viewer with ease and panache. Mc Carthy continues to showcase why he’s one of the most exciting voices in horror right now, continuing to craft thrilling scares and emotionally engaging stories to boot that toe the line between terrifying and heartfelt with pinpoint precision. Simply put, this haunting tale will give viewers plenty of reasons to keep the lights on.
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