Everybody can agree that talking during a movie is annoying. But there’s actually something a lot more infuriating.
Laughing during a movie.
Now, for a comedy movie, of course, laughing is expected. But a horror movie — a serious, dramatic, pure horror movie — is when laughing becomes absolutely unacceptable.
Not to mention, there wasn’t just one bubbly moviegoer; there were two — one for my left ear and one on my right.
When a person laughs throughout a horror movie, it not only diminishes the built-up suspense but also distracts the audience from the dialogue. However, with this obnoxiousness came a question.
During the first five minutes, when the lady sitting next to me laughed at a completely normal-looking goat, I thought to myself, “Will Hokum be good enough to overshadow the infuriation of the experience caused by Giggles One and Two?”
Once the credits rolled, I had my answer — without a doubt.
Hokum stars Adam Scott, star of the hit series “Severance,” who plays Ohm, a famous writer who carries a weight of guilt from his childhood. Ohm retreats to a hotel deep in the Irish woodlands to scatter his parents’ ashes. However, when he arrives, he discovers that the hotel is said to be haunted by a witch.
This premise along with the ambiguity of the film's marketing including a trailer featuring the scariest rabbit I’ve seen since “Donnie Darko,” made me just have to see this film.
When the first trailer came out and I found out the movie was directed by Damian McCarthy, I was both excited and worried.
McCarthy has done two, relatively low-budget, horror movies before Hokum: “Caveat” and “Oddity.” Both movies heavily prioritized scaring the audience over elements like dialogue, character development, messaging and other aspects that make a horror film not only scary but notable.
The two cinematic components I was most worried about leading up to the film's release were acting and dialogue, two things McCarthy’s prior films lacked.
Luckily, my worries, for the most part, didn’t blossom into a reality. Sure, there were times delivery on lines felt bland or off, but it wasn’t nearly as poor as “Caveat” and "Oddity.” But as someone who’s seen dozens of horror movies, I’ve gotten used to writing not being on par with masterpieces like, “12 Angry Men.”
Along with better writers, McCarthy finally got his hands on a well-renowned actor after working with unknown actors for the entirety of his career.
Scott played the role perfectly. Ohm carries a sense of guilt from his childhood and through his own self-resentment, he takes it out on others. For lack of better words, he's a jerk.
At first, when Ohm makes fun of the hotel in front of the owner and completely disregards the bellboy who is only trying to talk to one of his favorite authors, I winced. How can this be the person I’m rooting for?
As the movie went on, though, the film delved deeper into what makes Ohm who he is. I soon found myself rooting for Ohm to beat both his external battles, witches, and internal battles, self-hatred.
This not only shows the range Scott can convey in a singular role, it also shows how character development is one of the best aspects of Hokum.
In all of McCarthy’s previous films, character development was nowhere to be seen. In fact, most horror movies, I could argue, don’t have the slightest amount of character development. Most characters serve to be killed and the ones who make it to the end are only shown to be plagued with trauma and paranoia. Hokum’s character development makes the ending all the more satisfying.
Unfortunately, the actors in the film whose names don’t start with Adam and end with Scott give performances that are at most forgettable and at the very least, not good.
I have a rule when it comes to horror movies: with bad acting, there’s potential for great scares.
Do you know that feeling when you watch a scary movie and you turn off all the lights in your room, and as you stare into the darkness, you can’t help but think the ghoul from the scary movie is lurking in the dark, waiting for you? I hadn’t gotten that feeling in years until Hokum.
But Hokum’s isolated atmosphere, paired with the scariest rabbit I’ve seen since Donnie Darko, was more than enough to make me pull the covers over my head.
Unfortunately, the rabbit wasn’t the main villain and only had a few incredibly well done scenes. During the scenes, the rabbit either jumpscares Ohm or is used as a tool by the witch to further guilt and shame Ohm for his childhood trauma.
McCarthy's use of a trapped environment makes the audience feel trapped right with the protagonist. Along with that, McCarthy is Irish, and all of his films take place in Ireland. Hokum even uses Irish folklore as inspiration, which makes for some original material I haven’t seen in a lot of horror films.
I did have one gripe regarding jumpscares, though. The first four jumpscares were all delayed reveals. For example, let’s say our character is looking in the mirror and sees the silhouette of a ghost in the mirror, they turn and nothing’s there. Then when they look back and the ghost is right there in their face. It’s something I’ve seen thousands of times in films and felt cliche.
Another problem I had was the pacing. During the first act and much of the second, not a lot was going on. The film took a while to get the conflict, sprinkling in a few jumpscares to keep you awake throughout the first act.
Overall, this seems to be McCarthy’s magnum opus so far, and I can’t wait to see how he progresses from here. If you're a fan of horror movies — or Adam Scott — this is a must-see in theaters.
Maybe wait a bit when Hokum viewings are less packed, just to minimize your chances of getting a giggler.