Hokum 4K 2026 Ultra HD 2160p

A horror writer travels to a remote Irish village to scatter his parents' ashes. Gradually, he realizes that the hotel where he is staying is haunted by a local witch.

User Review
I went to the screening with a specific goal in mind—to see Damien McCarthy’s new film, since I really enjoyed his previous works, *Caveat* and *Oddity*, so I didn’t need any extra promotion. Still, I want to thank the localizers for not trying to link *Hokum* to well-known horror franchises and kept the original title. And thanks to Neon Studios for not using aggressive advertising to promote the film, promising us yet another “cult classic” or “the scariest nightmare” when, in reality, it turned out to be a seasonal flop. Although one label has stuck to Damien McCarthy: that he sort of makes horror movies for smart people. It sounds pretentious. I’d put it differently—for attentive viewers who love a dense, event-filled plot that fully immerses them in what’s happening on screen. With Damien, it’s best not to get distracted. Not that I wanted to, anyway. For the third time, he skillfully blends horror with mystery in a way that gives rise to a dream or a tall tale. This is what sets him apart from contemporary horror directors; his work doesn’t quite fit into the “highbrow” trend, yet you can’t call his technique old-school either—it’s his storytelling, moving from the complex to the simple. He’s in a league of his own, with his rabbits and puzzle-like houses, witches and criminals, and you can sense how much he himself enjoys telling and filming all of this—with love, not for the sake of provocation.

That’s why *Hokum* is classic Damien McCarthy, but one that ventures slightly outside his comfort zone: the locations are the same—Ireland—but with a guest American star, Adam Scott. I don’t think the choice was random: Adam has extensive experience in comedy, and the director very intelligently makes use of Scott’s ability to be sarcastic and, at the same time, vulnerable; his appearance resonates in some way with that of Gwilim Lee from Damien McCarthy’s previous film, and apparently this is exactly what die-hard rationalists look like in the director’s imagination; but unlike the cunning and stately Gwilym Lee, Adam is more subtle, and this very accurately underscores his psychological state—he is still a 9-year-old boy waiting to be forgiven.

But he is also a famous writer named Om Bauman (and the psychotherapist-donkey from the TV show—in my opinion, the scariest moment in *Hokum*), who, on Halloween Eve, heads to an Irish village to scatter his parents’ ashes—it was here that they spent their honeymoon and, it seems, were happy. Plus, Bauman plans to finish a book about a conquistador—and a few other things along with it—but all that goes to hell when Om is first introduced to local folklore: a tale that a witch has taken up residence in the honeymoon suite, then drag him into a crime mystery, all while treating him to some interesting moonshine that drives the local jerks wild. The question of what to consider more realistic in this story doesn’t leave the ending open-ended. In tone, “Hokum” is the polar opposite of “Oddity.” It seems that Damien McCarthy picked up on viewers’ complaints about the overly cynical ending of his previous film, which is why “Hokum” is more compassionate and heartfelt—perhaps even sentimental, but without being saccharine—a point underscored in the scene where Om discusses the ending of his novel with the bartender Fiona (Florence Ordesh)—and there’s a certain irony in this scene, given that Damien McCarthy himself is taking his work to a new level of promotion and needs to cater to the desires of a broader audience. That’s why it’s so important for *Hokum* that Om Baumann is a lyrical hero, and Adam Scott does a great job with the role—it’s a pleasure to watch him, to follow this journey from cold indifference to warm concern for Fiona’s fate, and perhaps in the fate of the janitor Alby (another nod to *Oddity*, just like the desk phone).

That’s as far as the film’s tone goes, because narratively and stylistically, this is still classic Damien McCarthy, so *Hokuma* will feature a rabbit—albeit in the form of a Halloween costume—as well as a puzzle house with secret doors, basements, and clever passageways. I was very pleased that the writer Bauman has such a clever imagination—the way he used the clock with the figurine makes you believe that he really does write captivating books; and the way Damien McCarthy focuses the viewer’s attention on the grinning face of that figurine—whether it will pierce through or not—reveals the director’s true mindset, for whom *Hokum* is genre entertainment with a dash of morality: hell exists, so behave yourself.

Info Video

Codec: HEVC / H.265 (83.7 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: HDR10+
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1

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