‘Hokum’ Stands Out as a Stephen King-Inspired Horror Throwback That Hits the Right Notes

Published Mar 18, 2026, 1:01 PM EDT

Ross Bonaime is the Senior Film Editor at Collider. He is a Virginia-based critic, writer, and editor who has written about all forms of entertainment for Paste Magazine, Brightest Young Things, Flickchart, The Free Lance-Star, and more. Ross graduated from George Mason University with a focus in communications and journalism and a minor in film and video studies.

Ross is a Tomatometer-approved critic, a member of the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association, and a member of the Critics Choice Association. He has loved movies ever since he saw Cinderella in the theater as a kid, he can quote 10 Things I Hate About You and Wet Hot American Summer from memory, and is fascinated by all things Georges Méliès and Charlie Chaplin.

Adam Scott Visits a Strange Irish Hotel He Can't Quite Escape in 'Hokum'

Adam Scott stars as Ohm Bauman is a novelist who can probably be best characterized as a douchebag. He’s in the process of wrapping up his popular “Conquistador Trilogy,” but in trying to put the finishing touches on it, he takes a retreat to an Irish inn. His parents had their honeymoon at the inn, and he’s decided to scatter their ashes in the nearby woods. As Ohm spends a few days there, he gets to know the people who work at the Bilberry Woods Hotel. He meets Alby (Will O’Connell), a bellboy who’s also an aspiring writer that Ohm has no time for, even going as far as burning Alby’s hand when he won’t leave Ohm alone. There’s also Jerry (David Wilmot), an odd man he meets in the woods who also lives in the woods and hates the inn owner’s son, Fergal (Michael Patric).

But most importantly, Fiona (Florence Ordesh), the inn’s bartender, tells Ohm about the mysterious honeymoon suite, which has been locked for years and apparently has a witch in it. On Halloween night, Ohm tries to die by suicide by hanging in his room and is saved by Fiona. But when Ohm returns to the inn weeks later, he finds that Fiona has gone missing and no one knows where she could be. However, both Ohm and Jerry believe she must be in the strangely-guarded honeymoon suite she’s been so curious about and decide to try and find Fiona there.

Hokum takes its time setting up this Irish vacation getaway and the people in the area before really leaning into its horror. It’s not entirely necessary for it to do that, given how few of these characters are essential later on, but it is a nice bit of setting the stage once hell breaks loose. This is a film that really makes you wait for the scares, and from the way this story slowly builds into its true nature, Adam Scott’s disgruntled writer character, and the fact that we’re at a hotel that’s more than meets the eye, Hokum definitely has plenty of Stephen King in its DNA.

'Hokum' Effectively Sets Its Mood Before Getting Into Nightmares

Hokum also isn’t all that interested in delving too deeply into its Irish lore and history. McCarthy drops bits and pieces about what might be happening and presenting antagonists to Ohm, but never really wants to give any explanation or rationale as to why what is happening is actually happening. It’s mostly just slight breadcrumbs for the viewer to try and put together their own reasoning, but it never goes too far down that path, which can be a bit disappointing in the long run here.

Needless to say, Ohm does eventually make it into this honeymoon suite, and that’s where Hokum really finds itself. The film shifts into a clever, unrelenting single-space horror story full of surprises and scares. Here, McCarthy gets to show off everything that makes him an exciting horror director, including effective jump scares, great uses of framing to hint at things going bump in the shadows, and, in one case where Ohm watches a nightmarish version of a show he used to enjoy as a child, some pretty terrifying creature design. While McCarthy’s story leaves plenty to the imagination narratively in a way that doesn’t entirely work, within the horror, he’s leaving us to figure out the horrors, and it works extremely well. If anything, Hokum could’ve spent even more time trapping Ohm and watching him try to figure his way out as odd, unnatural things happen around him.

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Scott is having a bit of cheesy fun as Ohm and leans into it. It’s also quite rare to see Scott in a role this unlikable, and he is solid at playing this type of dirtbag. While Scott is at his best in the more direct horror segments of the film, it is enjoyable to watch him clash with the other people of the town (as we see with his and Alby’s interactions) or to see him befriend Jerry, in a scene-stealing role for David Wilmot. Scott manages to make us care about a character who, for every reason we see on screen, we shouldn’t care if this scummy dude lives or dies, and that’s an impressive feat.

When it focuses specifically on the scares, Hokum is an effectively disconcerting film that relies on time-honored basics to really get under the viewer’s skin. While it might not be too concerned about answers or a deeper understanding of what’s going on within the lore and mysteries, it more than makes up for it with its frightening approach to horror. Hopefully, we’ll see more films in the future like Hokum and undertone that embrace the good old-fashioned way of doing horror to keep this trend going.

Hokum premiered at SXSW. The film opens on May 1.

Release Date May 1, 2026

Runtime 101 Minutes

Director Damian McCarthy

Writers Damian McCarthy

Producers Derek Dauchy, Mairtín de Barra, Roy Lee, Julianne Forde, Steven Schneider, Ruth Treacy

Cast

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Pros & Cons

• Especially in the final act, Hokum is a chilling horror story that plays with shadows and claustrophobia effectively.
• Adam Scott gives a solid performance that feels inspired by Stephen King protagonists.
• The supporting cast adds a nice bit of color to this narrative.

• The lore within this story isn't really explored as much as it could be.
• McCarthy takes his time to get the scares really going.