One of the modern directors that is consistently making truly scary movies is Damien McCarthy and his new movie Hokum just hit theaters. I watched this new nightmare with a packed house, and there were actual gasps from adult humans in the movie theatre who have seen a thousand horror movies, just like you.
So, if you are the kind of person who thinks that, “Oh, I’ve seen it all. Nothing scares me anymore,” check out Hokum because the atmosphere that this movie builds is terrifying. The movie is so tense and full of dread that even the sound of a simple clock chiming made people in my audience jump like Leatherface just leapt out of a closet. It’s only May, and I think I have already seen some of the most effective scares of the year.
“…truly one of the scariest movies you’re bound to see this year.”
Damien McCarthy’s Oddity spooked audiences with its creepy life-sized wooden mannequin, but Hokum brings a giant creepy rabbit, a witch, several ghosts, and murder-most-foul that is haunting a hotel in an Irish countryside. The witch’s back story really lays the groundwork for what’s to come and we’re introduced to her death-inducing tour down into the underworld through an old man scaring children with a cautionary Halloween tale.
The characters are fun and eccentric, and everyone’s actions are justified so the story immediately feels believable. And the scares are so well-crafted that even the most jaded horror fan is bound to get caught off guard by McCarthy’s personal blend of bone-rattling sound design and unrelenting, supernatural freak outs. It’s a great atmospheric horror and truly one of the scariest movies you’re bound to see this year.
I highly recommend you go check this one out in the movie theater because there is nothing better than hearing a crowd scream, and scream again(!) before they’ve had a chance to catch their breath.
We’re reviewing Damian McCarthy’s Hokum on the Nightmare on Film Street podcast, so if you want to hear our full thoughts, we have a spoiler-free discussion at the top of the show, and then we get into all the gory details in the back half. Check it out wherever you listen to your podcasts, and let your fellow Horror Fans know what you thought of Hokum over in our Discord! Join usssss
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