Hokum horror film opens to critical praise

Damian McCarthy's latest horror film, "Hokum," starring Adam Scott, opened in theaters this week, drawing praise for its atmospheric dread and psychological tension set in a remote Irish inn.

Scott portrays Ohm Bauman, a troubled author who travels to the Bilberry Woods Hotel in rural Ireland to scatter his late parents' ashes. There, he dismisses local legends about a witch trapped in the inn's locked honeymoon suite by its owner, played by Brendan Conroy. Events soon force Bauman to confront both mundane evils and supernatural forces, including ghostly apparitions and a malevolent entity tied to Irish folklore. The story unfolds over one night, blending murder mystery elements with themes of guilt and self-forgiveness, as Bauman grapples with a traumatic childhood incident involving his mother's death.

The cast includes Peter Coonan as hotel manager Mal, Florence Ordesh as clerk Fiona, David Wilmot as local Jerry, Will O'Connell as bellhop Alby, and Michael Patric as groundskeeper Fergal. Running 101 minutes, the film marks McCarthy's follow-up to his 2024 release "Oddity" and 2020's "Caveat," continuing his focus on haunted Irish locales and vengeful supernatural figures.