Written by: Sam Santiago
Adam Scott is front and center in the newly released "Hokum" key art, and this one already feels off in the best way.
Seriously, though, Scott isn’t the first name that comes to mind for something this dark. He’s usually playing it dry, a little awkward, sometimes funny. We loved him in "Parks and Rec" as well as "Step Brothers" but can he hold court in a horror movie? This is different territory. That said, the trailer makes a strong case. There’s something there, and it works.
The film comes from writer-director Damian McCarthy, the same mind behind "Oddity" and "Caveat", and it’s set to hit theaters May 1 via Neon.
WATCH THE OFFICIAL TRAILER FOR "HOKUM" BELOW
SYNOPSIS: Scott plays Ohm Bauman, a reclusive novelist heading to a remote Irish inn to scatter his parents’ ashes. Quiet trip. In and out. That’s the plan. Then the stories start. The staff talk about an old presence tied to the honeymoon suite. An ancient witch. The kind of thing you brush off until it starts sticking in your head. And once it’s in there, it doesn’t leave. Ohm begins to slip. Visions creep in. Something doesn’t add up. Someone vanishes. The place starts to feel wrong, like it’s watching back.
The trailer leans into that slow, uneasy feeling. Not loud. Not over the top. Just something building in the background that keeps getting closer, and we dig all the dread it conjures up.
The cast includes Peter Coonan, David Wilmot, Florence Ordesh, Michael Patric, Will O’Connell, Brendan Conroy, and Austin Amelio.
Behind the scenes, producers Roy Lee and Steven Schneider are involved, along with Derek Dauchy, Ruth Treacy, Julianne Forde, Mairtín de Barra, Ken Kao, and Josh Rosenbaum. Executive producers include Ben Ross, Dan Kagan, Rami Yasin, and Andrew Childs.
There’s still a bit of a question mark with Scott in a role like this, but sometimes that’s when it hits. And right now, "Hokum" looks like the kind of disturbing slow burn we don’t get enough of.
