Oh man, I love a good ghost story & writer/director Damian McCarthy’s HOKUM is certainly that. It’s a spooky, dark, compact, well acted, sometimes riveting, sometimes heartbreaking, and eventually down right terrifying, ghost story. Its quiet, unassuming, downright sneaky nature may result in it not exactly taking the world by storm but even better, it’s the type of creepfest that one could return to again and again for years to come when a supernatural fix is needed. My only complaint is that it was not released in the autumn season as it takes place on Halloween but I suppose you can’t have everything. I know I’ll be returning to it in Octobers to come because it’s that rare seasonal film that leans into the old school spirit of the holiday rather than the more commercial and garish presentation of it that’s more ubiquitous today. This is the type of haunting tale that stays with you and its attention to detail insures each viewing will likely deliver fresh discoveries. I love that the thought of revisiting a couple of its scenes fills with me with a sort of delicious dread.
Adam Scott (he of HELLRAISER: BLOODLINE) portrays Ohm Bauman, a famous borderline insufferable author with a cruel streak who travels to Ireland to bury his parent’s ashes near a quaint hotel where they once honeymooned. The hotel is filled with many a rustic glowing pumpkin in anticipation for All Hallows Eve and several lovable eccentrics for him to rudely condescend to. He is informed right away that the establishment’s Honeymoon suite is inaccessible due to it being haunted by a witch, which he scoffs away as “hokum” while I can’t believe my luck in getting not only a ghost movie but a witch movie. Of course, Ohm is not one to leave well enough alone and after a few shocking occurrences I won’t disclose, he decides to investigate the forbidden area and becomes trapped inside. Slowly, the supernatural takes hold and tragic occurrences from his past (which reveal why he’s such an asshole) are revealed. One truly disturbing (not to mention extremely kindertraumatic) memory involving a horrific anthropomorphic host of a children’s TV show is seared into my psyche forever. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, a dumbwaiter to the hotel’s cellar is discovered which turns out to be a direct route for the film to slide from haunting to hellish.
I feel like I’m the lone person in the world who wasn’t entirely blown away by McCarthy’s previous work ODDITY (2024). I thought it was spooky and entertaining enough but some of the characters’ behavior I found hard to swallow (who accepts a hideous golem gift from someone they clearly don’t care for, who would allow said creepy person to stay in their home when they are called to work and who has such a convenient trap door?). But now, HOKUM has got me thinking I have to give ODDITY another chance (maybe I was just in a skeptical (Ohm Bauman-ish) mood when I viewed it ). I gotta say though, It’s possible that Adam Scott’s fine performance is what made the huge difference between the two films for me because he’s so naturally incredulous that when he shifts from dubious to convinced it’s pretty much impossible not to follow suite. In any case, I absolutely I found myself completely under HOKUM’s spell and felt fully transported to the rich space it creates which is pleasantly occupied by characters that felt worn in and authentic and whose fates I cared about. The entire film is so much like sitting in a big comfy chair by a fire with a cat in your lap reading a ghost story while a storm rages outside, slowly becoming less and less comfortable in your surroundings. So much of HOKUM is about that gradual disquiet as things grow darker and darker and the veil between this world and the other thins. Consider me a happily converted believer.
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