Slated to arrive in theaters on May 1, 2026, “Hokum” received an early screening this week as part of AMC’s Scream Unseen mystery movie series. The film, written and directed by Damian McCarthy (“Oddity”), and starring Adam Scott (“Severance”), is a far cry from what the trailer leads you to expect — and that gap between expectation and reality still makes for a rather haunting film.
Scott plays novelist Ohm Bauman, who escapes to a remote inn in Ireland to scatter his parents’ ashes and finish working on his latest novel. The trailer frames “Hokum” as a supernatural horror in which the protagonist is drawn into a haunting — specifically, staff tales of an ancient witch said to lurk in the honeymoon suite. And that haunting is present, but it isn’t the heart of the story. The real story revolves around the disappearance of one of the inn’s staff, which Scott’s character finds himself entangled in. The supernatural plays as the undercurrent to something much more sinister playing out on the surface. This layered approach makes for an interesting story, though it may leave some viewers feeling misled by the marketing.
This mystery is further complicated by the film’s competing layers of ‘hauntings.’ There’s the literal haunting in the inn itself, the figurative haunting from Ohm’s past and the grief he carries, and the haunting mystery of the recent disappearance at the inn. As all of these things come into play, it muddies the waters enough that you may find yourself questioning what’s driving the events on screen and what’s real and what isn’t. It’s a forgivable ambiguity, but an ambiguity nonetheless.
Scott’s performance as Ohm is impressive, and while the character isn’t always likable — going as far as verbally and even physically accosting some of the inn’s hospitable and accommodating staff — he manages to keep us curious enough to want to follow him on his journey long enough to reach a place where we understand why he is the way he is.
The inn itself is almost a character. The production design is incredible, creating an atmosphere that is simultaneously warm and inviting, as an inn should be, and isolating, haunting, and horrific. A highlight is the honeymoon suite — the epicenter of the supernatural happenings — filled with a darkness and decay that feels visceral and deeply unsettling.
The horror in “Hokum” relies predominantly on jump scares, but they’re well-earned thanks to the tension and dread that build throughout, paired with strong atmosphere and sound design. McCarthy demonstrates a clear command of tone and pacing, which shows in how effectively each scare lands.
“Hokum” may not deliver what you think you’re getting from the trailer, but perhaps that’s the point. In a film built around misdirection, maybe it’s only fitting that the marketing follows suit.
