Hokum is scary at times, and all around a delight to watch and far from the nonsense of its title, making for folkloric fun. Definitely need more films with Irish folklore frights.
Hokum is a fun, creepy movie that opts for light humor within darker beats of guilt and loss. It keeps the paranormal mystery both thrilling and questionable. With a minimal cast, it remains fully engrossing because each character has a distinct personality that comes through in their performance. Hokum is a wonderful addition to the filmmaker’s slate of Irish horror.
Damian McCarthy (Oddity, Caveat) writes and directs this gem of horror entertainment, marking his junior feature, and it doesn’t disappoint. Oddity was a suspenseful horror that built tension with a mystery and one dreadfully chilling human-sized wooden man. While this does not have the level of dread and unforgettable frights seen in that film, there is an added layer of “strange man in a strange land.” The American lead, Ohm Bauman, played by Adam Scott (The Saviors, Krampus), arrives in Ireland with a purpose. He comes to the inn to scatter his parents’ ashes in the woods nearby, not realizing that the locals claim a witch haunts the premises.
Hokum Has an Arc for Its Protagonist
The film opens with a scene set in an earlier period as a man and a child search for a map in a desert. Based on their appearance and the vast desert before them, time is crucial. In an ironic twist, they find the map. But it’s in a glass bottle that they cannot break against the soft sand. So, the man prepares to sacrifice the kid to open the bottle. Then it cuts to writer Ohm, penning his novel. The opening, complete with the dark, sparse sterility of his home, emphasizes the quality of the character—a man immersed in shadows. Hokum sets up the arc for the character and uses the supernatural to aid his journey.
Caustic Humor and Awkward Social Interactions
While the horror in Oddity is more immersive, Hokum has a quaint and uncomfortable charm in the way its characters interact. Ohm, a horror writer, might feel others around him are awkward, but he is awkward, too. It’s more of a confrontational awkwardness. “Jerk” is a gentle euphemism to describe this character. He epitomizes much of the issue with American tourists, who expect everyone to adhere to what they deem socially acceptable.
He’s rude to pretty much every person he encounters, but this is also a man using his antagonism as a shield. But it is comical watching people interact with him, from the manager of the inn, Mal, played by Peter Coonan (Dear Erin, Trad), to the staff who are unable to take a hint, staff member, Alby, played by Will O’Connell (Anniversary, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story). The only person Ohm is polite to is kindly Fiona, played by Florence Ordesh (An Extinction, Point of No Return). Hokum focuses on making the characters interesting, ensuring viewers care about what’s happening.
More a Mystery Than Horror
Because of a disappearance, the film feels more akin to a mystery than a horror flick. The frights, when they do come, are creepy. However, Hokum intentionally leans toward a fun time rather than a chilling one. The reveals toward the end feel more fantastical rather than the subdued, but unforgettable terror in specific scenes in Oddity.
Hokum possesses the refined and assured qualities of confident direction. Damian McCarthy learns from each thematic outing, honing his craft. While I prefer his previous theatrical outing, that’s a personal horror preference. I enjoy the frights that make one scared to turn off the lights at night. Hokum is scary at times, and all around a delight to watch and far from the nonsense of its title, making for folkloric fun. Definitely need more films with Irish folklore frights.
