Hokum Review: Adam Scott in So-So Irish Haunted Hotel Horror — Uneven Frights and a Frustrating Frame
hokum opens with a baffling desert prologue before steering into the fog-shrouded corridors of an Irish inn, a tonal swerve that defines Damian McCarthy’s haunted-hotel entry. Adam Scott plays novelist Ohm Bauman, whose retreat to the Billberry Woods Hotel to scatter his parents’ ashes quickly devolves into encounters with a vengeful witch, an eccentric forest figure and staff who may not be what they seem. The film alternates brief chills with narrative loose ends that leave the central mystery hazy.
Hokum’s Haunted Green: Background & Context
Hokum is written and directed by Damian McCarthy and stars Adam Scott as Ohm Bauman. The cast includes Peter Coonan, David Wilmot, Florence Ordesh, Will O’Connell, Michael Patric, Austin Amelio and Brendan Conroy. The story follows Ohm as he checks into the Billberry Woods Hotel after being unsettled by a presence while writing and after deciding to scatter his late parents’ ashes at a forest site tied to his mother. The hotel setting contains a honeymoon suite rumored to be haunted by a witch and a local folklore thread that propels much of the film’s action.
The film premiered in the Midnighter program at the SXSW Film Festival and is scheduled for release on May 1 (ET). The picture runs 1 hour 41 minutes, carries an R rating, and is associated with a production effort identified in publicity materials.
Deep Analysis: Framing, Tone and the Limits of the Tale
One of the most immediate structural choices is an opening sequence set in a desert featuring a costumed figure holding an ancient parchment; that framing device recurs and is intended to pay off thematically. Yet the script’s density of symbols and plot threads undercuts those payoffs: the film piles on story points — a witch in the honeymoon suite, a forest-dwelling eccentric who consumes a hallucinogenic potion, and the protagonist’s unresolved family trauma — without fully clarifying the mechanics of the haunting or the witch’s origins. That opacity nudges some moments toward genuine unease while leaving other scenes feeling like unresolved hag hokum rather than satisfying revelation.
Adam Scott’s Ohm is written as a prickly, entitled American novelist who clashes with hotel staff — a gruff handyman, a terse front-desk clerk, a chatty bellhop with literary ambitions and a crusty owner who tells children dark stories. The dynamics among these characters produce tonal shifts: small acts of kindness become plot lifelines, and the bartender’s intervention averts immediate disaster. Still, the overall impression is that the film’s mood and structure don’t always cohere, producing sequences that scare and sequences that merely perplex.
Expert Perspectives, Festival Takeaways and Regional Impact
Damian McCarthy is credited as writer-director; Adam Scott is credited as the lead actor playing Ohm Bauman. Other credited performers include Peter Coonan (front-desk clerk Mal), Michael Patric (handyman Fergal), Florence Ordesh (bartender Fiona), Will O’Connell (bellhop Alby) and Brendan Conroy (hotel owner Mr. Cobb). Austin Amelio appears in the desert-framed sequence. The SXSW Midnighter slot gave the film a genre-focused premiere and positioned it for attention among festival programmers and horror-minded audiences.
Critically, the film’s unresolved elements and tonal unevenness suggest it is unlikely to become a broad draw for cultural tourism tied to its Irish setting; promotional materials do not indicate a fallout for local tourism officials. For viewers, the film’s mixture of practical scares, folklore and a probing lead performance will determine whether the experience registers as intriguing atmosphere or as narrative hokum.
Conclusion
Hokum offers moments of genuine creepiness framed by an adventurous but diffuse script: it teases thematic closure and occasionally delivers emotional payoff, yet leaves significant questions unanswered. Will audiences accept the film’s suggestive approach to folklore and character, or will the loose threads register as creative failure? The answer may rest on whether viewers prefer haunted atmosphere in partial relief or demand a fully elucidated mystery rather than lingering hokum.
