Hokum

I am saying it now, Hokum, from a film writer-director Damian McCarthy is one of the best horror films of 2026. I know. I only get ten of these a year, but Hokum made me stop and ask myself, “Okay. When is the last time a movie made me feel like this?” It’s a spooky, atmospheric and affectionate love letter to horror cinema and Halloween. Surface level it is just a fun haunted house movie. But structurally it is a wonderful example of good storytelling and scares.

Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott) is a successful author but a crumby person. As we meet him he is sitting alone at his writing desk, laboring over the ending of his latest novel. Faced with concluding his story, he weighs the thought of tacking on a remarkably grim ending. Stumped, he gulps yet another finger of whiskey. We learn that Ohm has been tasked with carrying his parent’s ashes back home to Ireland. To be more specific, he needs to take his parent’s ashes to a particular forest that was dear to his mother’s heart. Luckily there is a hotel on the edge of said forest. Make that a haunted hotel.

Ohm goes to Ireland with his mother’s ashes and he checks into the hotel. He lumbers into the intimate lobby that is decorated for Halloween, aka Samhain (SAH-ween). Real Jack O’ Lanterns carved from gourds are scattered about the lobby, candles in them winking. Immediately Ohm makes not-friends with Fergal (Michael Patric) the handyman, Fiona (Florence Ordesh) the desk clerk, and Mal (Peter Coonan) the concierge. That’s not to mention a prickly greeting with Mr. Cobb (Brendan Conroy), the hotel owner. Oblivious to the immediate nuances, Ohm learns that the Honeymoon suite has been sealed off. The well meaning bellhop Alby (Will O’Connell) tries to warn Ohm that the suite is haunted by a nasty witch but is brushed off. Venturing into the nearby forest, Ohm meets Jerry (David Wilmot), who offers commiseration and mushrooms as a way to connect with those beyond the veil.

We’ve arrived at the haunted hotel. We’ve met the cast of characters. We have learned about the mystery. Now the fun begins.

As the Halloween festivities commence Ohm has a little bit too much to drink and decides to investigate the haunted honeymoon suite. He wakes up the next morning in a hospital bed learning that the desk clerk Fiona discovered him near death in his room. Ohm returns to the hotel to thank Fiona but she has gone missing. Nothing is adding up and everyone at the hotel is more concerned with closing for the season than trying to rind Fiona. Ohm is determined to uncover the truth and this leads him back into the closed hotel and straight back to the Honeymoon Suite.

It all seems so simple, really. An obnoxious guy is forced to confront a nasty ghost in an abandoned hotel room. But there is so much that makes the simple premise work. Not the least of which is the solid writing from McCarthy. He has a knack for creating characters that we lean into. Scott‘s Ohm is an obnoxious drunk yet we give him a little slack because he is carrying out his mother’s last wish. We are just dying to know what’s inside the haunted room and we know Ohm will also be dumb enough to scoff at legend and take us in. But  that is just part of it. McCarthy doesn’t make a promise that he can’t keep. We get plenty of build up, and we get a satisfying payoff. That’s not to mention that the classic tropes of classic a haunted house story are all there. We have a crackling mystery, a forbidden room, a shocking secret, and delicious surprises.

Scott is great by the way as he tends to be. He has great physicality as an actor, emoting not with an expression, but his entire body. Production designer Til Frohlich creates a moody, rich atmosphere and set decorator Ciara McKenna takes that and runs with it. Joseph Bishara once again delivers a tense, atmospheric score that seems as if it’s spring loaded for jump scares. The clever cinematography from Colm Hogan that will have you peering into the suffocating darkness onscreen, afraid of what is just out of sight. But, I will say that for me, Wilmot‘s Jerry steels the film with his van living, mushroom loving nomad character. He’s a fun guy.

Lush with atmosphere and mystery, and Halloween goodness, Damian McCarthy has given us a frighteningly fun haunted house movie with Hokum. This will be a new Halloween tradition for me.