'Hokum' finds fresh scares lurking in the shadows of an old Irish hotel

No fooling, “Hokum” is simply a fabulous fearfulness movie for each tastes.

An American novelist named Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott) journeys to agrarian Ireland to people the completion of his best-selling “Conquistador” trilogy. Bilberry Woods, his hotel, claims a witch is locked wrong the honeymoon suite where, decades ago, Ohm’s now-dead parents celebrated their marriage. He’s travel this acold to sprinkle his folks’ cremated ashes astatine the lone spot helium tin representation them happy.

Any different tourer mightiness beryllium frightened to enactment successful a witch-infested inn. But Ohm is specified a misanthrope that he’d ne'er spell to a cheery formation resort. To beryllium it, the writer-director Damian McCarthy opens his movie with the epilogue to Ohm’s latest book, a godforsaken decease trek with a Spanish treasure huntsman (Austin Amelio) and his desperately thirsty kid usher (Ezra Carlisle). The bleak tortures Ohm concocts for his characters are arsenic vile arsenic the Bilberry’s fetid jacuzzi.

And Ohm’s cruelties aren’t simply fictional. Just hold till you spot however helium abuses an awkward bellboy (Will O’Connell) who dares to tube up that he’s a fan. For bully measure, Ohm besides traumatizes the barmaid, Fiona (Florence Ordesh), by the extremity of his archetypal night’s stay.

Here, witches are existent — and truthful are jerks. McCarthy’s publication pairs supernatural monsters with quality ones. The villainy isn’t coordinated, but much similar a feedback loop of evil. Ohm’s hole is partially his ain doing. Although the movie ne'er comes retired and says it, Ohm was perchance conceived connected these unhallowed grounds, truthful possibly helium was conscionable calved cursed. Still, Scott plays him arsenic specified an anemic, cold-blooded creep that it’s awesome “Hokum” gets america rooting for his endurance erstwhile the radical he’s offended would conscionable arsenic soon spot him burned astatine the stake.

McCarthy, an Irishman himself, has a knack for gathering retired this satellite with lived-in details — from the banker boxes stacked successful the edifice manager‘s bureau to the glowing hearts connected the honeymoon suite’s backstage elevator. Oh, and it’s the week of Halloween, truthful the Bilberry is littered with accepted turnip jack-o’-lanterns with shriveled, foul small mouths. (The pumpkin is simply a New World vegetable.) I’ve seen excessively galore protagonists skulk down acheronian hallways, but McCarthy’s mentation of that changeable is truthful visceral that you consciousness similar he’s truly been there. You tin odor the mildew.

Classic is the archetypal connection you deliberation of to picture this genre of fearfulness film, with its quaint mounting and comparative deficiency of gore. But classical feels excessively fusty and self-conscious, adjacent though “Hokum” has each the tropes: looming figures, clanging bells, ominous dumbwaiters. (The accumulation decorator Til Frohlich indispensable person rounded up each spooky cherub sculpture wrong 60 miles.) Somehow, McCarthy’s assurance makes these clichés look caller again, donning them arsenic people arsenic O’Connell’s gawky bellboy wearing an old-fashioned reddish cap. A costume? Ohm asks him. Nope, it’s sincere.

McCarthy is conscionable trying to marque his ain bully movie. That’s however helium succeeds. Perhaps heavy successful the movie’s ain subterranean basement of ideas, “Hokum” is simply a modern instrumentality connected Ebenezer Scrooge’s nighttime terrors, lone I wouldn’t enactment overmuch banal successful Scott’s malcontent turning his beingness around. Scott has made a vocation of being unlikable. (Who tin hide him forcing his household to sing four-part Guns N’ Roses harmonies successful “Step Brothers”?) He’ll astir apt get an Oscar information erstwhile helium applies his skills to the close biopic astir a firm titan who’s flicked disconnected each power successful his conscience.

Still, Ohm is much despairing and miserable than immoderate of the wretched worms Scott has acted to date. McCarthy shows america snippets of why. (There’s a crippled constituent you’ll astir apt spot coming.) Yet, successful the stretches of “Hokum” that play retired similar an flight room, the assemblage finds a unusual benignant of optimism successful Ohm’s determination to survive. Something successful him inactive thinks this satellite is worthy sticking astir for. It’s a pleasance to ticker him enactment his eccentric encephalon to work.

McCarthy hasn’t written immoderate outright jokes successful the movie, but plentifulness of moments marque you smile. One moving gag involves the hotel’s irritation astatine the adjacent goats who trample connected the hoods of parked cars. Deep successful the woods, a chaotic antheral named Jerry (David Wilmot) explains that the herd is blitzed retired of its caput connected hallucinogenic mushrooms. Then helium offers Ohm a swill of psychotropic milk.

The people by Joseph Bishara is shivery with chorales that moan similar wraiths successful the wind. Needle drops of Celtic folksongs and poems acceptable to euphony springiness the content that each Irish dirge yearns to get arsenic morbid arsenic “Nearer, My God, to Thee.” Colm Hogan’s cinematography has handsome, affluent shadows. but what’s champion astir it — and the gait of Brian Philip Davis’ editing — is they reward adjacent attraction without slumping into those interminable, inevitable leap scares. (And determination aren’t obnoxiously large stingers either.)

“Hokum” is enjoyably untidy. It doesn’t reply immoderate much questions than perfectly necessary. The lone mysteries I wanted to cognize are: What does McCarthy person against bunnies, which amusement up present successful aggregate forms, each trying to out-ghoul Frank the Rabbit successful “Donnie Darko”? And however overmuch does the filmmaker spot himself successful Ohm? After all, some delight successful inventing radical to destroy.