Hokum

My personal preference for horror movies are the ones where the horror isn't as readily apparent. While I enjoy the "slasher" films and the jump scare moments some horror movies elect to go with. The ones that really resonate with me are the ones that are more psychological in nature. The ones where you're not entirely sure what is causing the suspense. They're the movies that feed off the fear of the unknown entity in the dark corners just out of sight.

That's the space that Hokum occupies. Add in the main character Ohm Bauman going through his own levels of grief and guilt leading to a result that keeps you guessing until the end about what is really going on. The movie does also throw in a few jump scares for good measure and some of them actually got me to jump myself which is rare for jump scares. I don't want to go into too much of the plot because I do think it's best to let it play out as intended. Just knowing that Ohm Bauman is an author who travels to a hotel in Ireland to spread his parents' ashes is enough. Just let the movie take over from there.

I do think it's worth noting that Ohm Bauman is played by Adam Scott. Adam Scott plays a role that I don't really recall him doing anything like it before. He does so amazingly well in what is now one of my favorite roles he has ever done. You can just feel the emotions he carries around. You do see Adam Scott do some of this is his Severance role, but this is adding another notch in his belt for roles he can successfully pull off.

I also want to give a shout out to the cinematography. The movie was well shot. There were a few times I got lost just taking in how the scenes were shot. The director, and also the writer, Damian McCarthy delivers on every front you could possibly ask for any genre of movie.