HOKUM

Hokum orchestrates an unnerving symphony of terror thanks to writer and director Damian McCarthy’s excellent weaponization of tension, sound and darkness against audiences that delivers frightening scares that will haunt viewers long after the credits have finished rolling.

Damian McCarthy may not be the best known writer and director working within the horror genre today, but Hokum proves that not only is he a daring filmmaker with a terrific vision who is among the modern auteurs of the genre, but a filmmaker who deserves far more recognition than he currently has. Having previously directed two critically acclaimed horror films, that are both available on Shudder and most likely only captured the attention of serious horror fans, and a series of short films, his latest film marks his first true mainstream film with the casting of Adam Scott in the lead role. Though nothing can prepare audiences for the chilling and captivating mystery that McCarthy unravels in Hokum, conjuring up an addictive horror mystery that understands the elements of the genre without hesitation and delivers them with a masterful execution, this careful and deliberate filmmaking from McCarthy ensures that Hokum is horror done right from start to finish.

There are many moving parts to Hokum’s story, that if not balanced properly, would cause a film to collapse. But not only does McCarthy write his screenplay with a precision that finds that requisite balance, he does so with a harmony that elevates his simple delivery of each theme and idea present in the story to create a frightening experience that immediately gets under your skin. Playing with ideas of personal loss and trauma, supernatural lore and the twisted capabilities of mankind, what McCarthy weaves together in Hokum are not new ideas to the horror genre. But, the way he utilizes each narrative thread with an innate understanding of how they interact with each other to generate an unsettling atmosphere that has a strong grip on the audience, leaving them on the edge of their seat for the film’s entire runtime. It’s the small details in McCarthy’s screenplay that carry the most weight, such as the circle references across each different narrative thread, the re-occurrence of heart imagery, the unprompted playing of Ohm’s dictaphone recorder revealing pertinent warnings as its too late, or the sly close up shots of the clock, showing an attention to detail that helps to build the world of the film to fully ensnare audiences in his twisted vision. With his seemingly simplistic execution of the story, relying on visual cues instead of overexplaining, McCarthy delivers a far more emotionally engaging story that is never short on blood curdling moments of terror, going for the bigger payoff than the cheap jump scares to create a meaningful horror experience for audiences.

While the film’s writing has an unwavering precision that sets a solid base for the film, it is the technical below the line aspects of the film that make Hokum the knock out, nightmare inducing experience it is. Knowing that the audience is expecting jump scares throughout the film’s second and third acts, the cinematography purposefully deceives audiences’ expectations and utilizes lots of long shots to build a sense of dread with its use of darkness and shadows, often teasing something just out of the viewers and Ohm’s sight. Quick editing signals that something is about to pop on screen, but McCarthy delays this assumption by extending these reveals past their natural expectation of delivery to ensure that when the jump scares do occur, audiences will not only jump out of their seat, but uncomfortably laugh at the fact that McCarthy just gave them yet another well earned fright.

The film’s sound design is expertly crafted, delivering strikingly loud sounds in an otherwise silent atmosphere that emphasize the smallest noises, allowing them to have a startling impact on viewers as Ohm attempts to survive his mortifying stay in the hotel’s honeymoon suite. No stranger to terrifying musical scores having composed the iconic score for Insidious, Joseph Bishara works unsettling wonders with the musical score. Heightening not only the horrors within the hotel with loud and startling musical motifs during the most intense moments of the film, but also deepening the emotional catharsis of Ohm’s personal journey with his sentimental and caring orchestrations, Bishara’s work complements every other aspect of the film and allows McCarthy’s visions of terror to ring loud and clear across the screen.

While films like Hokum aren’t built around scene stealing performances, the cast led by Scott helps to champion McCarthy’s vision for the film at every turn. Scott is great as Ohm, the haunted writer on vacation to spread his parents’ ashes, who finds himself trapped in a haunted hotel. Interacting greatly with the environment McCarthy has created in the film, Scott gives a great scared shitless performance in which he instinctively reacts to the horrors McCarthy has dreamed up for Ohm, while at the same time developing an internal suffering within Ohm that characterizes the entire film with an unflinching cry for help… both literally and figuratively. The supporting cast of Peter Coonan, David Wilmot, Will O’Connell and Florence Ordesh all turn in great supporting turns, each bringing a peculiar mixture of warmth and caution to their characters, creating a mysterious cast of characters that keeps the audience guessing during the film’s first half as to where it's heading. And while Michael Patric is outwardly abrasive and dangerous feeling as Fergal, he plays it with a twisted caution that warns the audience that his character is most likely the one not to be concerned about.

With his third feature film, writer and director Damian McCarthy proves himself one of the best modern film exports out of Ireland alongside John Carney, Cillian Murphy, and Paul Mescal, playing with familiar ideas in the horror genre but combined in an exciting manner that promises lots of scream worthy moments throughout Hokum. On all fronts, McCarthy’s masterful direction and attention to the smallest of details works on multiple levels to create a thrilling cinematic nightmare featuring first rate technicals, that when combined with a strong lead performance from Adam Scott, delivers a horror film audiences won’t be able to shake off. Never wasting a second of screentime with effective writing, a brilliant construction of its dread inducing atmosphere and boldly executed jump scares, there are no weaknesses in sight in Hokum; only strengths designed to conjure up a frightening experience from start to finish.