Folklore, fantasy, and mythical tales are somehow just so much more compelling when they are from a different culture. As a Western viewer, I find the history and fantasy rooted in the past of other countries truly intriguing. What is even better is a creative mind crafting a piece of lore into a visual medium. Writer-director Damian McCarthy does just this with his latest Irish film Hokum.
Unlike McCarthy’s previous film Oddity (2024), in Hokum his protagonist is not an Irish actor. In fact unexpectedly, we have American actor and typically seen in comedies, Adam Scott at the helm. While perhaps not pulling specifically from Irish history/myths, Hokum takes place in an old and haunted hotel in the Irish forests.
Struggling to complete his latest novel, writer Ohm Bauman (Scott) travels to a remote inn to scatter his parents ashes.While settling into his retreat, the regulars teach him about the haunted honeymoon suite. Of course, not believing in any of it in the slightest, Bauman scoffs at the ridicule of the employees. It is not until disturbing visions grace him and a shocking disappearance when he is finally forced to confront not only the horrors currently in his path, but those from his past as well.
In truth, I never could have guessed or expected where Hokum would take us. Not only is it briefly described as a horror, but when you visualize Adam Scott in a role that is the furthest from a comedy, the vision changes. Not to put Scott’s ability down at all, it is just so typical to see him in more unserious roles, so when watching Hokum, something else takes a hold of you.
If you look overall at Hokum, it has its ups and downs. But break it down into its parts and there is something there for anyone (or at least those interested in the film). Visually the film is most pleasing from the moment it begins. You are pulled into Bauman’s world. As a writer, he has been crafting a story for many years, for McCarthy to show his audience this visually helps us see what Bauman sees in his world. It becomes a story or multiple stories, within the film’s story.
In this Irish forest, through Hokum’s cinematography and score, you get to feel the spooky jumps of which each character does. The vastness of the unknown leaves you wanting to know more. It pulls you deeper into the creepy Irish hotel. Not only is the outside scary, the twists and turns of the interior of this place are just as weary. McCarthy and cinematographer Colm Hogan work with the medium keeping us wondering what they will choose to do next.
Let us not forget what is important in horror films, the space saved for jump scares and eerie moments. Tone and pacing need to be used well in a film like Hokum. Though at times we wonder where we are being led, it ultimately leaves you shocked throughout. No matter how overused the haunted house trope is, Hokum’s addition of using Irish folklore keeps things different. I cannot lie, I could not follow any who-dun-it stories ever. So the one presented in Hokum keeps me lost until the end.
Add one last thing, Hokum is given a further layer with Adam Scott’s disturbing performance. You would not expect this level of creepiness to come out of him. Though yes, he has done both dramatic and comedic roles in the past, not limiting himself to one particular genre. Seeing Scott in this role is truly something else. Through sarcasm and such an abrupt nature to his character, perhaps not even a horrifying character, Scott’s humanistic emotions and reactions to the events around him that allow you as a viewer to be more invested.
Hokum, although nowhere near perfect, does provide some strange form of entertainment. Entertaining might not be the word, in the slightest. Yet, using it when it comes to the horror genre just makes sense. Combining Adam Scott’s American and curt personality with the Irish actors and folklore, Hokum is an interesting watch. After its world premiere at SXSW in Austin, Texas, Hokum releases in the cinemas across the UK on Friday, 1 May, 2026. It will be up to you whether when Friday comes around, you choose to join the world of Runway or entering the Irish woods.
