An atmospheric horror flick with a strong performance by Adam Scott

PLOT: A misanthropic author (Adam Scott) travels to a remote inn in Ireland where his late parents once honeymooned, planning to spread their ashes. Once there, he becomes embroiled in a mystery that may involve a haunting, forcing him to reckon with his tortured past.

REVIEW: Neon has steadily built a reputation as Hollywood’s biggest horror studio, usurping the once-dominant A24. Their taste and track record are so strong that each new release turns into an event for horror fans. As such, among all the movies premiering here at SXSW, none seemed to have the anticipation of Hokum, which was programmed in their midnight section and is directed by Damian McCarthy, whose previous films, Caveat and Oddity, both took on Irish folklore.

Hokum does a similar thing, with it being a tale of Irish spirits haunting a creepy hotel, but by casting an American in Adam Scott’s cynical Ohm Bauman, it’s probably McCarthy’s most accessible work to date, with it being a well-executed ghost story wrapped up in a surprisingly potent morality tale.

Adam Scott is great as Ohm, an author dealing with childhood trauma who hides behind a façade of ego and even flashes of cruelty. Yet, he finds himself unexpectedly owing a personal debt to the hotel’s kind bartender (an excellent Florence Ordesh), and when she goes missing, he seems to be the only one committed to finding her, along with a local derelict, Jerry (David Wilmot), whom she was similarly kind to. The two find themselves working to unravel the mystery of her disappearance, leading to Ohm being trapped in a long-locked honeymoon suite said to be haunted by malevolent spirits.

McCarthy does a good job establishing Ohm as an anti-hero who, while initially insufferably arrogant, proves to have a somewhat brave streak, making this—more than anything else—a redemptive tale. It’s also a very creepy one, with lots of subtle, spooky imagery in the first half paving the way for more grotesque, legitimately scary ghouls as the film goes on, and lots of screaming from the midnight audience I saw it with.

It also proves to be a pretty cracking mystery, even when not considering the supernatural element, which becomes a major part of the film’s second half. McCarthy has made a beautiful film, shot on location in West Cork, with gorgeous cinematography by Colm Hogan. It’s produced by veteran horror producer Roy Lee, with The Conjuring composer Joseph Bishara providing a spine-tingling soundtrack. Hokum, at times, feels almost like an elevated Conjuring installment with a bit of an international, indie flavour, and the local cast is terrific. Wilmot steals scenes as the surprisingly resourceful Jerry, who, like Ohm, is haunted by his own past, while Peter Coonan is good as the hotel manager who may or may not know more than he lets on.

While it remains to be seen if Hokum can tap into the zeitgeist the same way other Neon movies have, the audience at SXSW had a blast with it, and I never found it to be anything less than totally compelling. Neon is giving it a prime early May release date, and it could become a breakout hit, while Scott continues to impress as his career quickly rises thanks to Severance. This is another strong role for him.