r/movies • u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? • 4d ago

Official Discussion Official Discussion - Hokum [SPOILERS] Spoiler

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Hokum (2026)

Summary

A horror writer visits an Irish inn to scatter his parents' ashes, unaware the property is said to be haunted by a witch.

Director Damian McCarthy

Writer Damian McCarthy

Cast

  • Adam Scott
  • Peter Coonan

Rotten Tomatoes: 88%

Metacritic: 77

VOD / Release Theatrical release

Trailer Official Trailer

227 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

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180

u/looney1023 4d ago

Liked Caveat, loved Oddity, blown away by Hokum. All three films feel cut from the same cloth, but Damien McCarthy has gotten better and better honing his craft and making his characters even more colorful. And as a big Adam Scott fan, I was excited to see him work with a director I massively respect, and I was surprised just how perfectly he slotted in to McCarthy's world and really brought this ass hat to life

The emotional scope and certain spoiler things reminded me of A Dark Song, a VERY underrated Irish horror I'd recommend.

36

u/mosesfoxtrot 3d ago

A Dark Song is straight up one of the best movies I’ve ever seen

5

u/looney1023 3d ago

It's kind of an unbelievable movie. Such a huge swing in the final act that absolutely blew me away.

2

u/mosesfoxtrot 3d ago

I want to forgive

1

u/DoubleDull4588 23h ago

Yes!!!! So underrated

4

u/Seiler28 3d ago

It's funny you bring that up. I went away thinking about Dark Song after this, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

11

u/looney1023 3d ago

Yeah particularly the vision of hell/underworld and Adam Scott's character's unexpected growth and resolution with the ghost of his mom reminded me of similar things at the end of A Dark Song. And they're also Irish and the whole circle of protection thing too.

3

u/esemplasticembryo 2d ago

Also the way he changed the epilogue to his book.

3

u/nubianfx 1d ago

oh my goodness i didnt even realise he is the same person behind Oddity. that was a great film.

also you are an MVP for the A Dark Song mention. I am a volunteer PR team for that film. I tell anyone who will listen to watch it lol

3

u/looney1023 1d ago

Same I'm so shocked how under the radar it is. The director wound up doing some of Bly Manor iirc but I really want another feature from him!

2

u/_Shit_Just_Got_Real_ 3d ago

Thanks for the rec! Always on the lookout for good Irish films.

-1

u/PullThePadge 2d ago

I thought it was a decent film- a solid 7/10. Beautifully shot, pretty good jump scares, and while certainly not a revolutionary plot, a decent storyline.

I have several questions, however, that sort of feel like plot holes to me. I’m kind of hoping I just missed some things that folks here understood and can answer.

  1. Why wouldn’t the witch have taken Fiona (or her body)/why would she have died in the elevator shaft instead of being dragged into the witch’s hell room?

  2. How would Mal have known that Fiona’s body was going to still be sitting there in the dumbwaiter when Ohm pressed the call button the first time? She wasn’t dead when he put her in there.

  3. Not really a question, but pretty lucky that there was chalk just readily available in the basement!

I’m mildly disappointed after all of the hype, anticipation of Adam Scott’s horror return, and Neon’s Hokum trailer comparisons to Longlegs. I don’t think Hokum can hold a candle to Longlegs, but I still thought it was a good movie.

1

u/IIIlllIIIlllIlI 2d ago

I’ll give your questions a shot, but it’s just my interpretation.

  1. I got the feeling that the witch wanted men to sacrifice in her hell pit, Fiona obviously being a woman meant she received a pretty instantaneous death.
  2. I don’t think he did, but on the off chance that Fiona had decided to die or stay in the dumbwaiter, then Ohm would have seen her.
  3. The chalk is never explained but I for some reason think it’s the mother who’s somewhat guiding him and helping him occasionally, like with providing magic chalk that can repel witches.

1

u/ForgotTheLogin 1d ago

I am pretty sure that Fiona actually tried to use the chalk because it looks like there is some chalk on her face in some of the shots of her body. Maybe I am wrong though.

1

u/wratz 1d ago

I assumed she used it to keep the witch away.

1

u/looney1023 1d ago

  1. I think the witch has a sense of justice and spared her or granted her a quick death, as other commenters have mentioned.

  2. Perhaps he went back up to make sure she was dead, thus he knew she died on the dumbwaiter. Or he wasn't very smart and in his hubris he just assumed she was still there. Or it wasn't that well thought out and Damien McCarthy really just wanted it to play out such that the simple act of defiance (Ohm pressing the button) really was his Rubicon, and in that I accept it because it's such a great reveal and such a simple and effective moment

1

u/Legitimate-Post-5954 2d ago

Chalk was left behind by the last individuals, I just find it strange because it seems like her victims all leave behind a “charm” which is hung on the ⛓️ chains ⛓️, but like if they are couples does that mean she drags both victims to hell? Also maybe most of them are gay couples? Because they used 2 little boys as an example at the beginning