Hokum was a film that I didn't know a whole lot about but I did hear it advertised on the radio and they called it ‘a near perfect horror film’ which did put me on edge because its one bar below ‘the greatest horror film since The Exorcist’. I had hopes that it would be very good because it's directed by Damian McCarthy who previously directed Oddity which was an enjoyable and equally atmospheric horror.
There are Stephen King vibes throughout this film. The frustrated writer, the isolated hotel and the room that no one is allowed in. Now I am not comparing this to The Shining because that would be foolish but the hotel is a big part of the film and the film benefits from having a great sense of atmosphere. The film utilises the darkness quite well although there were a few times that I wished the brightness had been turned up a little bit but McCarthy showed in this film just like he did in Oddity that he understands how to create an atmospheric film that isn't just style over substance.
I did feel like the honeymoon suite layout was designed by James Wan. He loves his houses to be oddly large and it seems just a little too big but having never been in a honeymoon suite I don't know if this is too big or too large but it is something that I noticed in the middle of Ohm running around. The film does have a decent number of jump scars but unlike most horror films, these felt earnt. They felt like they had been worked into the story because they didn't take me out of the story but just kept me interested in what was happening.
I did like the scenes from the book. It would have been nice if they were peppered in throughout the film but I suppose they served their purpose in the two parts that we got.
Adam Scott is good as Ohm. He starts off as a typically unlikeable and possibly pretentious writer. He has a trauma which sees his mother killed by a gunshot wound and his father resenting him. I thought that the twist that he was responsible for his mothers death is something that might have been obvious to some but it led to the end of his time in the hotel. David Wilmot was good as Jerry. Jerry was styled as the weird guy in the story but by the end of the film he became one of the few dependable characters that Ohm could rely on (arguably the only one). I thought that Brendan Conroy was good as Mr Cobb the hotel owner but sadly he only has one scene which probably lasted for a minute and it would have been nice to have him feature more but that’s just the way it is.
I think the fact that Ohm is still unlikeable means that the ending isn't a good as it could have been. The last meeting between Ohm and Alby was a great opportunity to show some warmth and development on Ohm’s part but the fact that he is dismissive shows that he hasn't really grown despite what he has been through. He got some closure over the death of his mother and seemed to get the ending to his book that he was searching for but he still hasn't softened to a degree that I would have been happy with.
This was a very enjoyable film that shows that Damian McCarthy understands horror and understands that you can use atmosphere and use it well without relying on cheap jump scares. The only real issues with the film are with character development (or lack of it) but if you dont get the chance to see it at the cinema then this is perfect viewing during the Halloween season.
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