Hokum (film)

Hokum (film)

Hokum is a 2026 supernatural horror film written and directed by Damian McCarthy. The film stars Adam Scott as an author who travels to a hotel in Ireland, unaware it may be haunted. Peter Coonan, David Wilmot, Florence Ordesh, Michael Patric, Will O'Connell, Brendan Conroy, and Austin Amelio appear in supporting roles.

Hokum premiered at SXSW on March 14, 2026, and was released in the US by Neon on May 1, 2026. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for the story and McCarthy's direction, and grossed $24.5 million on a $5 million budget.

Plot

Hokum (film)

Ohm Bauman is an American author struggling to finish the conclusion of his successful "Conquistador" trilogy. After glimpsing the ghost of his mother at home, Ohm decides to visit The Bilberry Woods Hotel in rural Ireland, where his parents had honeymooned, to lay their ashes to rest. The hotel staff includes owner Cob, his son-in-law and front desk clerk Mal, groundskeeper Fergal, bartender Fiona, and bellhop Alby. Ohm overhears Cob tell two children the story of the Cailleach, a local witch who kidnaps children and leads them in chains on a tour through the underworld, where they are clawed at by the souls who live there. Ohm is abrasive and dismissive toward the staff, but warms to Fiona after she identifies the location of a photo his mother took. While spreading his parents' ashes, he meets and bonds with Jerry, a local who lives in his van and frequently drinks milk laced with magic mushrooms.

Fiona and Alby tell Ohm that the honeymoon suite is locked off and supposedly haunted by a witch that Cob had trapped inside. After belittling Alby's aspirations of a writing career, Ohm returns to his room. Later, Fiona finds Ohm's tape recorder at the bar. While attempting to return the recorder, Fiona discovers that Ohm has hanged himself. Ohm survives and awakens in a hospital, alive thanks to Fiona's intervention. When he returns to the hotel, Mal informs him that Fiona has been missing since the hotel's Halloween party, and that Jerry is the prime suspect for both Fiona's disappearance and the murder of his wife. Ohm confronts Jerry, who claims to have seen Fiona's ghost in the hotel, directing him to the honeymoon suite. Ohm doesn't believe Jerry, but agrees to check the suite with him. Jerry confesses to the killing of his wife, but says it was a mercy killing due to illness.

With the hotel closed for the season, Ohm and Jerry break in to investigate. Fergal knocks Jerry unconscious before driving him to the police. Ohm sneaks into the honeymoon suite, where he is haunted by supernatural visions of his mother and childhood memories of fatally shooting her by accident with his father's gun. Mal arrives, insisting that they head back downstairs and out of the honeymoon suite, but Ohm inspects a dumbwaiter, discovering Fiona's corpse inside. Mal locks Ohm in the suite and flees the hotel. Ohm finds his tape recorder on Fiona and learns that Fiona was pregnant with Mal's baby; Mal drugged her and locked her in the suite to prevent his family from finding out.

Jerry awakens in Fergal's van and escapes to the hotel. The hauntings intensify as Ohm struggles to find a way out. Spotting a fire escape on a map of the basement, Ohm descends via the dumbwaiter. He encounters the witch and fends her off with a protective circle of chalk. In the morning, Mal arrives at the hotel to dispose of Ohm and is surprised to find Jerry. Ohm manages to ring the suite bell, however Jerry doesn't hear it and drives away. Mal is relieved however Jerry returns minutes later telling Mal something feels off. At this moment Jerry hears the bell as Ohm rings it over and over alerting Jerry of his presence. Jerry grabs an axe and makes his way up to the couples suite while Mal starts a fire in the building. Jerry breaks the door down freeing Ohm, but Mal makes it to the honeymoon suite as well and shoots him with his crossbow. Ohm grabs the elevator keys from Jerry's body and gets away by heading back to the basement, where he attempts to draw a chalk circle around himself. Mal tries to escape the hotel, but discovers that the elevator gates have closed on him. He pursues Ohm down in the basement to get the elevator keys.

Mal is confronted by the witch, who chains his hands and leads him to the underworld. Ohm is also shackled, having not been able to complete the circle in time. He makes peace with his mother's ghost and cuts his own chains using the tool that Fiona used to cut him down from his previous suicide attempt, before escaping. As the hotel burns, Ohm is saved by Fergal after the latter hears the ghost of Ohm's mother calling out to him.

Alby visits Ohm in the hospital, telling him that Fiona and Jerry's remains have been found, but Mal is missing. Alby admits to vengefully spiking Ohm's whiskey with Jerry's mushroom powder. Ohm notices he still has bruises on his wrists consistent with being placed in chains and recalls Jerry telling him that drugs allow people to open their minds to the supernatural. Ohm agrees to read Alby's manuscript and writes a more hopeful ending to his 'Conquistador' trilogy.

Cast

Hokum (film)

• Adam Scott as Ohm Bauman, an author • Peter Coonan as Mal, the desk clerk and Cob's son-in-law • David Wilmot as Jerry, a man living outside the hotel • Florence Ordesh as Fiona, the bartender • Michael Patric as Fergal, the groundskeeper • Will O'Connell as Alby, the bellhop • O'Connell also portrays Jack the Jackass, a children's show character • Brendan Conroy as Cob, the owner of the hotel and Mal's father-in-law • Austin Amelio as the Conquistador, the lead character of Ohm's novel • Mallory Adams as Delia Bauman, Ohm's mother • Sioux Carroll as the witch, a supernatural entity believed to reside in the hotel • Ezra Carlisle as the boy, a child who accompanies the Conquistador in Ohm's novel

Production

Hokum (film)

Hokum was written and directed by Damian McCarthy, and based on his own original story. The Irish-US production was produced by Image Nation, Tailored Films and Spooky Pictures with producers including Roy Lee and Steven Schneider as well as Derek Dauchy, Ruth Treacy, Julianne Forde and Mairtín de Barra. It has support from Screen Ireland. The cast is led by Adam Scott, and also includes Peter Coonan and David Wilmot.

Principal photography took place in County Cork in Ireland in February and March 2025.

Release

Hokum (film)

In August 2025, Neon acquired worldwide rights to the film and handled international sales at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. Hokum premiered at the 2026 South by Southwest Film & TV Festival on March 14, 2026, and it was theatrically released in the United States on May 1, 2026. Front Row Filmed Entertainment released the film a day prior in the Middle East on April 30.

Reception

Box office

Hokum grossed $17 million in the USA and Canada, and $7.5 million from other territories, for a worldwide total of $24.5 million.

The film made $2.6 million from 1,860 theaters on its first day of release in the United States and Canada, including an estimated $900,000 from Thursday night previews. It debuted with $6.4 million and finished fifth at the box office.

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of 199 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "A classic haunted house story enriched with atmospheric folklore and perfectly-timed shocks, Hokum further solidifies writer-director Damian McCarthy as a modern master of horror." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 76 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.

Accolades

<table><thead><tr><th>Award</th><th>Date of ceremony</th><th>Category</th><th>Nominee(s)</th><th>Result</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th>Astra Midseason Movie Awards</th><td>June 30, 2026</td><td>Best Horror Film</td><td>Hokum</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><th>Critics' Choice Super Awards</th><td>August 6, 2026</td><td>Best Actor in a Horror Movie</td><td>Adam Scott</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><th rowspan="4">Fangoria Chainsaw Awards</th><td rowspan="4">October 25, 2026</td><td>Best Wide Release</td><td>Hokum</td><td>Pending</td><td rowspan="4"></td></tr><tr><td>Best Lead Performance</td><td>Adam Scott</td><td>Pending</td></tr><tr><td>Best Screenplay</td><td>Damian McCarthy</td><td>Pending</td></tr><tr><td>Best Cinematography</td><td>Colm Hogan</td><td>Pending</td></tr><tr><th>Golden Trailer Awards</th><td>May 28, 2026</td><td>Best Foreign Horror</td><td>"Witch" (Black Bear / Ignition Creative)</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>