There have already been some great spooky options to hit the 2026 movie calendar this year, and of course there are plenty of upcoming horror movies still in store. Hokum is one I’ve been really excited about, thanks to the trailer’s super creepy imagery and the promise of Adam Scott playing an absolute jerk, and now that I’ve read the critics’ reviews, I’m even more pumped for these “shriek-inducing frights.”
I love a good jump scare that sends popcorn flying everywhere or the feeling of being too freaked out to move as the credits of a horror movie roll. Hokum seems to be right in that vein, as Adam Scott plays Ohm Bauman, an author who travels to Ireland to spread his parents’ ashes at the hotel where they spent their honeymoon. Kristy Puchko of Mashable certainly found Damian McCarthy’s latest project effective, saying she screamed so hard in her screening that she could feel her ribcage vibrate.
Hokum is a seriously scary masterpiece. Like Caveat and Oddity, Hokum is twisted, horrifying, and darkly amusing. McCarthy has built on his skill for weaving together freaky folklore and compellingly quirky characters in a claustrophobic setting to deliver a supremely frightening thriller that swells in ambition as it does star power. It's a nerve-shredding, bone-rattling, scream-pulling good time, and an absolute blast to see in a theater. Don't miss it.
Robert Daniels of ScreenDaily says the story is simple, but the scares are earned through smart plotting, nimble editing, evocative sound design and a frigid performance by Adam Scott. Damian McCarthy succeeds in conjuring “overwhelming anxiety,” resulting in an “exceptionally chilling” horror movie. Daniels writes:
He leans into its effective cliches – and when Bauman inevitably becomes trapped in the honeymoon suite for the night, you better believe McCarthy opens up a bag of jump scares, accomplishing shriek-inducing frights through good, sturdy filmmaking. The suite, for instance, is exceptionally designed, replete with a creepy hot tub, cherub statues and a dumbwaiter that leads to a dark, confined basement. The sound design, meanwhile, is a layered soundtrack of warped wailing which mixes with the environment’s creepy ambiance — creaky floors, whipping winds, and consistent chimes — to set the mood.
Katie Rife of IndieWire gives this “giggly, exhilarating rollercoaster ride” of a movie a B+, saying it’s fun to watch Adam Scott play such an unlikable character, and like the critic above, she appreciates a simple, scary story. The Hokum review reads:
When Hokum works, it really works. It’s straightforward, but that’s OK — we’ve had a lot of attempts to ‘elevate’ the horror genre over the past decade or so. Instead, it’s just a good old-fashioned ghost story, the kind you’d tell over a campfire to scare children. And it’s a hair-raising one at that.
Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting gives it 4.5 out of 5 skulls, calling Hokum “nightmare fuel” and the most unnerving film from the director yet. Damian McCarthy combines “spine-tingling terror” with some dark humor in a horror movie that “will scare you silly.” Navarro continues:
Hokum so thoroughly invests you in Ohm’s off-kilter quest, one that keeps raising new intrigues and questions, and in a way that’s not easily predicted. The full scope of terror takes a while to arrive for the sake of building anticipation, such nail-biting anticipation that explodes in a folkloric freakout, yet it still holds you firmly in its grip.
Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert rates the movie 3.5 stars out of 4, praising Adam Scott for his best work to date. It was quite the choice for him and the director to keep Ohm so unlikable, and Scott's performance really sells the character’s fear and regret. The critic writes:
There are sequences in this that are among the scariest you will see all year, but other than a few jump scares, they’re not aggressive in their presentation, understanding that getting under your skin is just as effective as shocking you out of your seat. Hokum isn’t a slow burn, but one of its strengths is how it slides in and out of shocking images and dread-filled atmosphere.
Adding to these critics’ reviews, Hokum currently holds a 91% Rotten Tomatoes score, and all of this is just adding to the excitement I already had. If you, too, want to get the crap scared out of you in the theater, you can catch Adam Scott’s latest project on the big screen starting Friday, May 1.
