Hokum

Directed by Damian McCarthy, Hokum follows an American author (Adam Scott’s Ohm Bauman) as he encounters spooky shenanigans at a remote hotel in Ireland. Filmmaker McCarthy, armed with his own screenplay, delivers a slowly-paced yet mostly engaging piece of work that benefits from its ominous atmosphere and solid lead performance, and there’s little doubt, ultimately, that the picture receives plenty of mileage out of its intriguing, compelling central mystery – with the recurring emphasis on Ohm’s efforts at solving said mystery effectively carrying the spare narrative through its periodic lulls. And while certain elements of McCarthy’s script are questionable to say the least, with this particularly true of the confusion over Ohm’s ability to see spirits (ie is any of this actually happening or is it a result of a mushroom trip gone awry?), Hokum builds towards a satisfying closing stretch that does, in the end, confirm its place as a decent-enough horror endeavor.

**1/2 out of ****