Director: Damian Mc Carthy
Writer: Damian Mc Carthy
Stars: Adam Scott, Peter Coonan, David Wilmot
Synopsis: A horror writer visits an Irish inn to scatter his parents’ ashes, unaware the property is said to be haunted by a witch.
Panic Fest 2026 has now come to a close. The amount of films I watched in a week and a half is pretty amazing. I think the films that open and close the festival are usually the heavy hitters, and I’m happy to report that the closing film, Hokum, was not a disappointment. Some moments in the film felt like that jolt you get when a chill hits the back of your neck. Actually, they gave you the feeling of playing hide-and-seek as a kid — hiding so well that you could see people walking past your spot, hoping they wouldn’t find you.
Damian McCarthy is now three features deep into his career. He loves telling stories that focus on family trauma, ghosts, and the comeuppance of people who do evil things. Hokum stars Adam Scott as Ohm Bauman, a lonely, reclusive, alcoholic author. One night, his deceased parents’ remains and belongings are delivered to his house. As he goes through their things, he discovers that his mother requested their ashes be spread at a tree near a hotel they spent a lot of time at. Ohm travels to the hotel in Ireland, where he meets a group of quirky and seemingly harmless people. He treats them like they’re beneath him because they live in such a remote area. During his stay, he’s told a story about a witch that haunts the hotel. He thinks it’s all nonsense and doesn’t believe anything the residents tell him. After a failed suicide attempt, he begins searching for the missing person who saved his life. Unknowingly, this journey will bring back horrific memories from his past, uncover secrets in the present, and change him as a person.
Adam Scott’s performance as Ohm is one of his most layered yet. On the surface, he’s a lonely, alcoholic asshole who isn’t interested in much of what anyone has to say. Beneath that, he’s someone carrying a lot of built‑up trauma. The employees at the hotel all have different qualities and characteristics that make them interesting to follow throughout the film. Florence Odesh plays Fiona, the hotel associate Ohm connects with as soon as he arrives. She doesn’t take his attitude seriously and continues to be a good listener and a helpful presence. We also meet the silly town drunk and psychedelics expert Jerry (David Wilmot). He has conversations with Ohm about life, alcohol, and the people at the hotel. They form an unlikely bond after Fiona goes missing following the incident where she and coworker Alby (Will O’Connell) saved Ohm from committing suicide.
One of my favorite things about the movie was the moody, dream‑like cinematography from Cole Hogan. McCarthy and Hogan also collaborated on McCarthy’s last film, Oddity, so it’s no surprise they were able to deliver another film filled with beautiful, haunting, and nerve‑wracking images. McCarthy has created his own universe with his past two movies. Fans will remember the haunted hotel bell that rings in Oddity and the ghost of the bellhop who died in an Irish hotel. It’s a no‑brainer that these things are connected. It’s always cool to see filmmakers connect their films through items, music, or characters.
In the third act, you can see a few problems with the movie, including the need for more details about Ohm’s trauma, more information about the ghosts in the hotel, and more insight into Ohm himself. There has to be more to him than just being a sad, alcoholic, wise‑cracking author. These issues didn’t take me out of the film as much as I expected. I took a few days to process the movie before writing this review, and after thinking about the ending, I have a great idea of where McCarthy could take his next narratives if he decides to continue connecting them to his most recent films.
