Looks like another winner from Irish auteur Damian McCarthy, as Hokum hits the same creep spots as his previous entries Caveat and Oddity, while flexing new creative muscles in a more ambitious project.
A less-than-lovable Adam Scott (Severance, Parks & Rec) portrays Ohm Bauman, a horror writer bent on scattering his parents’ ashes at a picturesque hotel somewhere in the wild Irish boondocks.
Bauman’s rudeness and sarcasm rubs the staff the wrong way, with the exception of Fiona (Florence Ordesh), a friendly bartender who informs the word famous author that the honeymoon suite is haunted by a witch.
After laughing off the tale as “hokum,” Bauman’s sensibilities take a dramatic turn after he’s served a few too many cocktails, reeling him, kicking and screaming, into a haunting murder mystery with multiple suspects—including a vengeful spirit that appears to be ensconced upstairs, restlessly ringing the bell for room service.
Like a mashup of A Christmas Carol and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, there is a definite story arc here, with Bauman perhaps learning a lesson in humility and forgiveness that ultimately may make him a better person and writer.
Writer-director Damian McCarthy literally keeps Bauman (and us) in the dark for most of Hokum, wandering through the halls and tunnels that permeate the quaint little inn like paranormal prairie dog runs.
Adam Scott is pitch-perfect as an unfeeling prick in desperate need of redemption, which can only be found in the darkest corners of his soul.
And if he find it, will he know what to do?
I recommend you find out.
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