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Hokum (film)

Hokum is a 2026 supernatural horror film written and directed by Damian McCarthy. The film stars Adam Scott, Peter Coonan, David Wilmot, Florence Ordesh, Michael Patric, Will O'Connell, Brendan Conroy, and Austin Amelio.

Plot
Ohm Bauman is an American author struggling to finish the epilogue of his successful Conquistador trilogy. After glimpsing the ghost of his mother at home, Ohm decides to visit The Bilberry Woods Hotel in rural Ireland, where his parents had honeymooned, to lay their ashes. Ohm meets the hotel staff: owner Cob, his son-in-law and front desk clerk Mal, groundskeeper Fergal, bartender Fiona and bellhop Alby. Ohm is abrasive and dismissive toward them all, but warms to Fiona after she identifies the location of a photo his mother took. While spreading his parents' ashes, Ohm encounters Jerry, a local living in his van who frequently consumes milk laced with magic mushrooms. Back at the hotel bar, Fiona and Alby tell Ohm that the honeymoon suite is locked off and supposedly haunted by a witch that Cob had trapped inside. After belittling Alby's dreams of a writing career and burning his hand, Ohm returns to his room. Concerned, Fiona checks on Ohm and discovers he has hanged himself. Ohm awakens in hospital some weeks later, alive thanks to Fiona's intervention. When he returns to the hotel, Mal informs him that Fiona has been missing since the hotel's Halloween party. Mal also tells Ohm that Jerry is the prime suspect for both Fiona's disappearance and the murder of his wife. Ohm confronts Jerry, who claims to have seen Fiona's ghost in the hotel one night directing him to the honeymoon suite. Ohm doesn't believe Jerry's story but he agrees to check the suite with him after dark. While the two wait, Jerry confesses to killing his wife, but says it was a mercy killing due to an unspecified illness. He also claims that his wife's spirit thanked him after the fact during one of his mushroom trips. With the hotel closed for the season, Ohm and Jerry break in to investigate. Fergal apprehends and knocks Jerry unconscious before driving him to the Garda. Undetected, Ohm sneaks into the honeymoon suite, where he is haunted by supernatural visions of his mother and memories of shooting her dead by accident with his father's gun as a child. Mal arrives to retrieve Ohm, but as they start to leave, Ohm inspects a dumbwaiter, discovering Fiona's corpse inside. Mal locks Ohm in the suite and flees the hotel. Ohm finds a tape recorder on Fiona and learns that Fiona was pregnant with Mal's baby; Mal drugged her and locked her in the suite to prevent his family finding out. Jerry awakens in Fergal's van and jumps out before returning to the hotel. The hauntings intensify as Ohm struggles to find a way out. Spotting a fire escape on a map of the basement, Ohm descends via the dumbwaiter. He encounters the witch and escapes back up to the suite, where he fends her off with a protective circle of chalk. In the morning, Mal returns to the hotel to dispose of Ohm and is surprised to find Jerry trying to get into the honeymoon suite. He nearly convinces Jerry to leave, but Ohm manages to ring the suite bell, alerting Jerry to his presence. Mal starts a fire in the hotel to cover his tracks before shooting Jerry dead with a crossbow as he enters the suite. Ohm flees into the basement with the keys to the suite elevator, pursued by Mal. Mal finds the keys but is attacked by the witch, who chains him up and drags Mal to the underworld. Ohm makes peace with his mother's ghost and removes his own chains before escaping the basement. As the hotel burns, Ohm collapses but is saved by Fergal. Alby visits Ohm in hospital, telling him Fiona and Jerry's remains have been found but Mal is missing. Alby admits to vengefully spiking Ohm's whiskey with Jerry's mushroom powder. Ohm notices he still has rust on his wrists consistent with being placed in chains, and recalls Jerry telling him that drugs allow humans to glimpse the supernatural, which is real but otherwise invisible to those with "closed minds." Ohm promises to read Alby's manuscript, and finishes writing a more hopeful ending to his Conquistador book. ==Cast==
Cast
Adam Scott as Ohm Bauman, an author • Peter Coonan as Mal, the desk clerk and Cob's son-in-law • David Wilmot as Jerry, a man living outside the hotel • Florence Ordesh as Fiona, the bartender • Michael Patric as Fergal, the groundskeeper • Will O'Connell as Alby, the bellhop • O'Connell also portrays Jack the Jackass, a children's show character • Brendan Conroy as Cob, the owner of the hotel and Mal's father-in-law • Austin Amelio as the Conquistador, the lead character of Ohm's novel • Mallory Adams as Delia Bauman, Ohm's mother • Sioux Carroll as the witch, a supernatural entity believed to reside in the hotel • Ezra Carlisle as the boy, a child who accompanies the Conquistador in Ohm's novel ==Production==
Production
The film is written and directed by Damian McCarthy, and based on his own original story. It is produced by Image Nation, Tailored Films and Spooky Pictures with producers including Roy Lee and Steven Schneider as well as Derek Dauchy, Ruth Treacy, Julianne Forde and Mairtín de Barra. It has support from Screen Ireland. The cast is led by Adam Scott, and also includes Peter Coonan and David Wilmot. Principal photography took place in County Cork in Ireland in February and March 2025. ==Release==
Release
In August 2025, Neon acquired worldwide rights to the film, handling international sales at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. Hokum premiered at the SXSW on March 14, 2026, and it was theatrically released in the United States on May 1, 2026. Front Row Filmed Entertainment released the film a day prior in the Middle East on April 30. ==Reception==
Reception
Box office Hokum grossed $2.6 million from 1,860 theaters on its first day of release in the United States and Canada, including an estimated $900,000 from Thursday night previews. The film was projected to earn around $6 million for the weekend per Deadline. Critical reception Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale. ==References==
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