Plot and Setting
Hokum follows Ohm Bauman, a successful but troubled American novelist who decides to scatter his long-deceased parents' ashes at a remote, run-down hotel in rural Ireland where they spent their honeymoon. Arriving as the only guest, Ohm discovers the hotel harbors dark secrets, including a sealed honeymoon suite said to contain a 400-year-old witch. His stay spirals into supernatural encounters and psychological turmoil when a female employee disappears after a Halloween party, pulling him into obsession with both the mystery and the trauma of his parents' deaths.
Character and Performance
Adam Scott plays an unexpectedly dark and unsympathetic version of Ohm, a brusque, entitled novelist who is lonely, sliding into alcoholism, and agonized by unacknowledged personal pain. Critics note Scott excels in the role with prickly restraint, portraying a character who is deliberately not especially likeable—insulting hotel staff and being dismissive to nearly everyone except the young bartender Fiona. His performance anchors the film across multiple registers of horror, grief, and dark humor.
Critical Response
Critics describe Hokum as genuinely unsettling and very scary, with effective jump scares and a disconcerting narrative that juggles competing themes and evils. Director McCarthy is praised for his craft, particularly his ability to wring tension from a handful of rooms through tight framing and encroaching darkness reminiscent of classics like The Shining and The Innocents. The film features careful tonal calibration that allows for pitch-black humor even during frightening sequences. However, some critics note story issues, including a jarring opening sequence involving a Spanish conquistador that feels disconnected from the main narrative.
Themes and Style
The film operates as a straight ghost story with a swipe at misogyny, executed with rigor and a sly sense of fun. McCarthy maintains spookiness despite real-world reveals about various characters, and the visual language—boxed images and encroaching darkness—creates constant dread. Joseph Bishara's score complements the mood throughout.
Supporting Elements
The cast includes Florence Ordesh as Fiona, the bartender who senses Ohm's unhappiness; David Wilmot as Jerry, a wacky hermit living in a van who drinks shroom-based smoothies; and Peter Coonan as the receptionist. The film's premise is described as amusing and gruesome, involving convoluted narratives with two separate hospital stays for the protagonist. 
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