Hokum: A Balance of Cheapness and Luxury

Hokum is the latest horror film from studio Neon, who has supplied recent notable horror films like The Monkey, Longlegs, and The Lodge, among a slew of Oscar nominated films that vary in genre. The film premiered at this year’s South by Southwest and is currently being praised by critics and audiences alike.  For what it’s worth, it is not for the faint of heart. 

If you believe that movies like this ought to come with a trigger warning, here it is: violence against animals, self-harm, loud noises, drug and alcohol abuse, violence against women, blood and more decorate this film to amount to an appropriately shocking experience. It certainly isn’t this year’s Hereditary, but it is abrasive enough that it warrants such caution.

Hokum brings us the latest in the tradition of haunted house/hotel fiction.  The most obvious parallel is The Shining — an alcoholic writer, with an even more alcoholic dead father, finds himself in a haunted hotel with an evil witch inside of a hotel room that nobody should go into.  But it also echoes movies like The Old Dark House and Misery, as well as bringing its own original spin. The familiar elements produce a sense of direction rather than a sense of tiredness, but it would be dishonest to not note them.

This film faces a few challenges in creating an appealing piece.  The first is making the audience cheer for an absolutely unlikable protagonist.  But by giving the main character, played by Adam Scott, a compelling backstory and strong motivation, the movie seemingly bypasses this difficulty. The second challenge is creating a horror movie that has the plot of a murder-mystery. This, director Damian McCarthy traverses less well. The film is filled with cheap jump scares, amplified literally by the sound design, to thread together scenes that otherwise would not scare the viewer.  As the film progresses it starts to feel more like a proper horror movie.  Visually, the film is well-executed, with lighting that just gives you enough to see but withholds enough to scare.  But even the more effective horror elements are plagued by tropes that echo internet horror like Slenderman, Candle Cove, or the Backrooms. 

If you’re expecting diverse representation, this ain’t it. Every character, even minor ones, is white, and with one exception, male. This isn’t entirely surprising given the film’s setting in rural Ireland, but given recent horror’s strong trend of diverse inclusion, it would have been nice to have at least an extra who was a minority.  The film’s sole female representation ultimately is punished for her sexual behavior, which probably wasn’t intentionally sexist, but still comes off that way.

Although, the film does feature a prominent character experiencing homelessness, who is ultimately proven to be the most capable character, but still succumbs to the “hobo druggie” stereotype that was also recently featured in Weapons.  One can take solace that, in both of those films, the person without a home is the best character, but there is a long road ahead towards quality representation of such experiences.

In the end, Hokum is an enjoyable horror film that will probably get a little under your skin, but it isn’t the tour de force that you might be expecting. That’s fine — there is room for “just good” movies. They are a needed part of the backbone of the cinematic industry. I am excited to see what growth Damian McCarthy might display in his next feature film.