Hokum (Damian McCarthy, 2026)

[Finch]

Damian McCarthy is now 2.5 for 3 with Hokum which feels like a subtler, more atmospheric and sophisticated take on 1408. Some of the early scares I could take or leave (I found the musical stings distracting) but the middle section has an expertly timed jump scare that reminded me of similarly hair raising moments from Exorcist III (albeit with a much shorter build up which is part of the reason you don't see it coming) and Mario Bava's Shock. Like the sets of Caveat and Oddity, the world of this hotel feels lived in and palpably haunted by presences felt on the edge of the frame. I've not seen Adam Scott before (Twin Peaks was the last thing I watched on air so Severance wasn't on my radar but it is now) and he is excellent as the traumatized writer who only functions when he deals out cutting criticism or indulges his deeply sceptical, bleak view of the world. The film ends on a wonderful moment of grace that felt earned to me. Caveat had promise though the plotting and pacing felt rough at times, but to me Oddity and now Hokum feel like an exciting filmmaker getting better and better at his craft. It was my first time at the cinema for a year and a half and I had a great time. It helped that the other ten people in the audience were respectful and seemed to get the film instead of acting like it was beneath them.

[therewillbeblus]

I was pretty mean to the film in my recent writeup in the festival thread, but I forgot how outrageous the reveal of Adam Scott's trauma is. Like, the film sets it up as bad, but it's so extreme I couldn't believe it. Felt dramatically over-the-top to me, especially for the way it's just shoehorned in there

[Mr Sausage]

I don't know whether to be excited for Hokum now. A few reservations aside, I greatly enjoyed Caveat; it's the exact kind of nightmare I like. Oddity I liked less, feeling more like a set of good parts that didn't add up to much. Both films also have the same flaw: they're centred on incredibly designed, memorable objects that ultimately play minor roles in the plot.

So I was hoping Hokum would be McCarthy really coming into his own, and...between your guys' two posts, I have no idea what to expect from it now. Maybe I'll see it on Monday.

[Finch]

I'll say that nothing in Hokum nor Oddity unnerved me quite to the same degree as Caveat's late film scene where

Spoiler

the protagonist is temporarily walled in with the grinning corpse behind him the entire time

.

[therewillbeblus]

It's probable that I'm being too hard on Hokum. My friends thought it was fine. I'm just at the point where I feel like a horror film should be elevated in some way beyond just knowing how to edit in jump scares and create some intriguing art direction. But I'm definitely not meeting the film where it's at, even if I think its self-seriousness is at-odds with itself

[Finch]

I actually thought Hokum had a good balance between humor and solemnity. Sorry the film didn't resonate with you, TWWB.

[therewillbeblus]

I actually thought Hokum had a good balance between humor and solemnity. Sorry the film didn't resonate with you, TWWB.

Oh it definitely has humor, and especially David Wilmot earns some solid laughs. I just felt like the trauma and murder-mystery reveal stuff was more self-seriously presented than was earned

[Mr Sausage]

I'm in between you two, I think. I liked this one. It's more cohesive than Oddity, tho' it doesn't quite have that irrational nightmare edge that made Caveat such a standout for me. It shares their very specific sense for place and objects (tho' this time it doesn't revolve around a specific object that ends up being ancillary to the plot), but it doesn't have a set piece to rival either Caveat's scene with the body or Oddity's scene with the girl and the former patient. I think what I liked most about Hokum was the acting and character writing. My favourite parts were the conversations (especially between Ohm and Fiona and Ohm and Jerry). The horror stuff in the back end was pulled off with real craft, but also became wearying since it was rarely novel and tended to rely on the same type of jump scare or looming threat over and over.

Perhaps its biggest problem, and maybe the reason blus was so "hard" on it, is that there's a lot of talent here at the service of very little. It's the problem I have with Oz Perkins: I don't mind a trim horror film content to shock and unsettle and little more, but I'm disappointed when the filmmaker shows a hefty talent and yet settles for doing less, which is how I felt about Hokum. The traumatic backstory is insane and also unnecessary, like a concession to a current fad for emotional damage; and the script has an unfortunate tendency to treat its female characters as merely dead bodies to forward the plot/male self-development. I think this trope is called 'to fridge' a woman. The dialogue, setting, and acting make the movie feel a lot more authentic than the content really is. So this is a good slice of effective entertainment from someone I want to see do more than just that, because there's strong filmmaking instincts here.

So I'm still waiting for McCarthy to make good on the promise of Caveat, but I'll happily catch his next.