{"id":18879,"date":"2026-05-07T17:52:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T17:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cinemacocoa.com\/?p=18879"},"modified":"2026-05-07T17:52:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T17:52:14","slug":"review-hokum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemacocoa.com\/?p=18879","title":{"rendered":"Review: Hokum"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I’ve never seen so many lights give off so little illumination before.

A tormented, alcoholic writer stays in a haunted hotel in Ireland where his late parents once stayed. Are the spooky stories real, or pure hokum?

Starring Adam Scott (Severance<\/em>) David Wilmot, Peter Coonan, Florence Ordesh, Hokum <\/em>is directed by relative newcomer Damian McCarthy (Oddity<\/em>, Caveat<\/em>). Horror movies get a lot of traction these days. It feels like the glut of expensive comic book movies makes a niche for the opposite: horror movies made on respectable budgets.

Is Hokum <\/em>living up to its name, or is there something intriguing here?

We follow Ohm Bauman (Scott) who is on the verge of completing another fiction novel. An isolated, alcoholic writer, he is preoccupied as the sole heir of his parents’ ashes. Reluctantly, he travels from America to Ireland, where he finds a forest-dwelling hotel that his parents stayed at. Hoping for closure? Hoping to resolve mental blocks that prevent him from finishing the novel?
Either way, he finds the hotel is full of unusual staff and an even more unusual rumour. There’s something evil held within its walls. “Hokum,” he says.

There might be mild spoilers in this review. I went into the film knowing nearly nothing about it, so I suggest if you want a true experience, stop reading. Know that I enjoyed the film for its characters and setting, but it has some tropes, some predictable scares.
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Adam Scott’s got the boxed seats.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

For horror, I tend to go into them with scepticism. Often they are full of tropes and tired clich\u00e9. Or begin with intrigue, only to descend into chaotic nonsense. Usually, in these cases, they will because they can<\/em>. To go chronologically into Hokum<\/em>, it starts off poorly. We have Adam Scott’s Bauman, alone in his American house. He is writing beside a single desk light. In seeing a figure at his stairs, we get a shot-reverse-shot scene as he lifts the light up to see them. We have his face and a blinding light filling the frame. Gee, I hope nothing happens when he lowers that light<\/em>.

This is the grade of jump scares throughout the film. It doesn’t mature out of this “grab your partner” level of spooks. The first twenty minutes were worrying; that it was just <\/em>going to be loud-noises-big-faces jump scares. I think the film “got” me once, but it was toward the end and the atmosphere had had time to hook me.

There’s also a “twist” that the script makes blatantly clear before its reveal. Indeed, the film isn’t winning awards for implementing subtext. There’s an early discussion about mirrors and reflective surfaces, but I struggle to remember any relevance of this. Maybe one moment? Classic horror tropes as well: Maybe listen to the whole <\/em>Dictaphone message before doing something rash??
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First act of the film, I sleep.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

But these are the negatives. There are positives, and generally they outweigh the negatives. I found myself really enjoying the characters performed. Adam Scott plays a Stephen King character. A snarky, bitter, dead-pan recluse who definitely has some of the best lines. His early apathy for other human beings makes him an interesting character for a horror story. He has a logical mind, but also has the audacity to call out craziness when he sees it.
Meanwhile, the staff of the hotel are unsettling, but not inhuman. Clearly something is off, but we can’t quite figure it out from Bauman’s limited knowledge. David Wilmot brings a lot of required energy and life to the film as Jerry; an oddball living in the nearby woods. Possibly the best character.

As the story progresses, tension does mount nicely. Despite the dollar store scares, the atmosphere and intrigue was compelling. It is a film that rewards the audience within the third act so much, that the first act’s labours can be forgotten. Speaking of atmosphere, I’ve never seen so many lights give off so little light<\/em>. They would be absorbing light, if it were possible.

It is a decent scary movie. It might go over well with the American audiences especially: what with it literally being an American travelling alone into Irish folklore.

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\"3.5<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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