Hokum Review (2026)

Hokum is a patient yet incredibly confident film that knows how to build tension.

May 05, 2026

Hokum’s slower approach might not be for everyone, but if you pay attention, you will be rewarded.

Plot

A horror writer visits an Irish inn to scatter his parents' ashes, unaware the property is said to be haunted by a witch

Good Points

Strong focus on mood, behaviour, and character
Patient pacing that builds tension very well
Atmosphere is consistently unsettling without being in your face
Performances are controlled across the cast
Resists over-explaining
Supporting characters feel purposeful rather than just filler

Bad Points

Some parts feel a bit uneventful

My Thoughts on Hokum

It doesn’t rush to impress you

Hokum is a film that’s slow and patient, all purposely so, with no desperate attempt to hook you with in from the off with loud scares or constant escalation, instead it lets everything breathe while it sets everything up, being confident enough to be comfortable just existing for a while before anything significant happens.

Also, if you’re someone who likes to watch your phone while watching movies, I would avoid Hokum, because one its strongest aspects is how much it leaves for the viewer to interpret, so you need to pay attention, because mothing is over-explained - you’re given information, and it’s up to you to connect the dots, and is a film that rewards focus, because if you drift, you genuinely feel like you’ve missed something important.

The main character keeps you at a distance on purpose

The lead character isn’t immediately easy to like or understand in Hokum, as he’s distant, reserved, and emotionally closed off in a way that initially makes him hard to read, but the film doesn’t rush to correct that or soften him for the audience, as it wants you to understand him gradually through behaviour rather than explanation.

I also liked that the supporting characters are handled with care, because no one feels thrown in just to fill space, as even the smaller roles carry some presence, and it avoids one of the most common horror issues - characters existing purely to move scenes forward without feeling like actual characters.

The atmosphere and tension

This is where Hokum really succeeds, because the film builds its atmosphere slowly and steadily, without relying on obvious tricks, where it’s not about jump scares or loud moments, it’s about how the environment feels over time, with a constant sense that something is slightly wrong in a low-level discomfort kind of way, even when nothing is really happening.

Everything is earned

When the moments of horror do arrive, they do feel earned rather than inserted, with a clear sense of build-up behind them, even if it’s subtle, and the film doesn’t interrupt its own rhythm just to remind you it’s a horror film - it stays committed to its tone with a confident restraint.

The pacing is also deliberately slow, but it never felt hollow to me, as there’s always something developing beneath the surface, even if it isn’t immediately visible, so it creates this sort of sense of quiet pressure, like you need to stay engaged or risk missing key details, with a valance of patience and anticipation that works in the film’s favour.

There’s also enough ambiguity left in place to keep you thinking after it ends, without it feeling like the film forgot to finish, because not everything is answered, but not everything needs to be either.

By the end, I respected how controlled it was in its execution a lot - it builds mood consistently, maintains tone without drifting, and never tries to become something more conventional than it is.

Maybe some people will have issues with the pacing, but honestly, I would say that’s a you problem, and after Caveat and Oddity, Damien McCarthy has another hit on his hands as far as I am concerned.

Final Verdict

Hokum is slow, restrained, and deliberately understated, but it uses those qualities well, as it’s not interested in overwhelming you - it’s interested in unsettling you quietly and steadily.

Not for anyone looking for constant horror payoff, but for anyone who prefers atmosphere, patience, and control, it’s one of the more confident recent entries in the genre.