Film Title: Hokum
Director: Damian McCarthy
Writer: Damian McCarthy
Starring: Adam Scott
Release Date: May 1, 2026
Robert’s Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Find Capone’s review here.
Irish filmmaker Damian McCarthy returns with his third feature film following Caveat (2020) and Oddity (2024). His new movie provides a bit of craic (to borrow the phrase) and the always fun opportunity to check in with an up-and-coming horror director to see how they’re doing. How does McCarthy stack up against other burgeoning horror directors like Jordan Peele, Zach Cregger, and Coralie Fargeat?
McCarthy’s Hokum (which, I’m happy to report, is set during Halloween) follows Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott), an American writer visiting an Irish hotel to scatter his parent’s ashes. But the inn proves to be more than Ohm bargained for, supernaturally speaking, and his trip becomes worthy of one of his novels.
McCarthy has filmed in Ireland before, and his movies feature dark and dreary settings and backdrops. Hokum, however, starts with Bauman working on his latest novel, and we see his imagination realized on screen in a bright and vivid far-flung desert. It was refreshing to see such a different setting from a director and shows that McCarthy is more than a one-trick pony.
This isn’t to say that McCarthy’s dark Irish sensibilities are forgotten in any way—you’ll feel right at home as Adam Scott traverses through ominous woods, (with *something* [GOD what is that?] screaming in the distance) abandoned tunnels, and creepy hotel rooms.
Speaking of Adam Scott, he’s great here, putting his years in Apple’s dark and twisty Severance to good use as the snarky and tortured Bauman. He finds himself fighting fast, relentless waves of terror that we have no choice but to white-knuckle our way through with him. In other words, the horror is a wild ride and Scott navigates it perfectly.
So McCarthy’s return is a welcome one, and he seems to have stepped up to the plate in a big way, bringing back his past horror tricks (claustrophobic spaces, Irish folklore, unsettling entities), growing as a filmmaker, and utilizing A-lister Adam Scott.
Ohm toasts to bleak endings at one point, of which McCarthy is no stranger. So it was a thrill to find Hokum’s ending so strangely moving. A sticking point in the film is trauma and grief and with the final scene, McCarthy seems to be saying that the only thing we should fear is not being able to forgive ourselves.
Apart from his super awesome reviews on Whisper House Press’s website, you can find Robert Zerbe’s writing in Trembling With Fear and on the Creepy podcast. He reports that he has yet to hack his obsessive-compulsive disorder into something useful. Robert lives in Florida with his wife, two children, and a love of movies. You can follow him on Bluesky at @runonsandwich.
For Whisper House Press publisher Steve Capone’s review of Hokum, click here.
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