What if the truth is just a story? In Hokum, a bit of Irish folklore about a witch who lives in a stone hut might be nothing more than nonsense, or it might be the only way to finally break free from a past that refuses to let go. The word hokum itself means something contrived or unbelievable, something you might dismiss outright. But as this film unfolds, that definition becomes less certain because it starts to make us wonder if these kinds of stories are the only way we can face the truth?

Ohm Bauman visits Billberry Woods Hotel to finish his novel, that’s off I the Irish woods, his past begins to collide with a chilling new resident that has taken up residence in the honeymoon suite, but seriously, is any of this real or is it all just hokum?

Irish horror tends to sneak up on you, and this indy film by Damian McCarthy is no exception because it doesn’t rely on a single, recognizable Irish myth. Instead, it pulls together elements of Irish folklore and builds something new that feels like it has always existed.

So, let’s get into what works, what doesn’t, and what’s just “hokum” in this new film. Now, settle in because we’ve got a witch in the woods who is looking for lost souls!

You can watch my “out of the theater” reaction on YouTube:

The Weight of Folklore

Hokum opens in a deceptively simple way with a Conquistador and a boy walking through the desert looking for lost treasure, but then we cut away to the writer Ohm Bauman who is struggling with the end of his much-anticipated series. To give himself space to write and think, Ohm goes to this idyllic Irish hotel where his parents spent their honeymoon, but his arrival is greeted by a dead goat and an old man telling children about a witch who lived in the woods, where she traps and binds travelers in chain before pulling them into her lair.

At first, it feels like a fairy tale, the kind of story meant to scare kids into behaving, but that story quietly frames everything that follows. It’s not long after that Ohm hears the rumor that the witch is trapped in the Honeymoon Suite. What begins as a laughable story quickly becomes personal for Ohm, and it’s that shift is what anchors the entire film right between the lines of what might and might not actually be real.

Ohm’s Chains

At the center of Hokum is Ohm Bauman, a man who is already trapped by his own chains long before anything supernatural begins to happen. He’s not an easy character to like. He’s bitter, sharp, and at times openly mean to the people around him. While that behavior isn’t coming from nowhere, it’s still a trait that easily pushes most people away. As we learn more about him, we understand that he has been carrying a very specific kind of pain and guilt around for his entire life and his harsh response to people is more of a form of self-punishment than anything else.

So, when we hear the story about the witch chaining her victims, it feels like a foreshadowing of things to come, especially since witches in Irish folklore often exist as liminal figures associated with transformation and the consequences guilt and fate. It really feels like a reflection of his internal state. He has been chained to his moment of guilt for years, letting it trap and define him because he is unable to move beyond it. The film effectively aligns that emotional entrapment with the physical imagery of within the story as things begin to unravel.

This becomes even more important when Fiona enters the story. She is one of the only people in the hotel who looks past his gruffness and treats Ohm with kindness, and when she later goes missing, something shifts in him because she reminds him of his mother. There is a clear emotional connection between what happened to his mother and what is now happening to Fiona, and he feels compelled to do something. Even if he cannot save Fiona, he at least wants to find her, and that becomes the driving force that moves the plot forward.

Reality or Hokum?

At the same time, the film constantly asks whether what we are seeing is real. This is where the idea of hokum becomes more than just a title. There are supernatural elements throughout the film, but there is also a very deliberate introduction of ambiguity. Jerry, the old man Ohm meets in the woods, talks about substances that can open the mind, suggesting that some people can see things others cannot, and that certain supernatural experiences might be tied to altered states of awareness.

Later in the film, we learn that Ohm may have been under the influence of this substance at a key moment, which raises an important question. Are the things he experiences actually happening, or are they being shaped by his mental and emotional state? The film never gives a clear answer, and that uncertainty becomes one of its strongest elements in the story. It places the audience in the same position as Ohm, where the line between reality and imagination is not clearly defined.

Folklore and Supernatural Boundaries

This sense of uncertainty is reinforced by the recurring presence of goats throughout the film. They appear early, they appear often, and they tend to show up at moments that feel important. In Irish folklore, goats are often associated with the edges of the known world, places where civilization meets something older and less understood. They exist comfortably in those in between spaces, and that is exactly how they function here.

All the while the story of the witch in the Honeymoon Suite lurks in the background as a lingering figure to inspire fear from the shadows behind the gate that blocks her door. She represents a convergence of everything the film has been building toward. The folklore, the trauma, the guilt, and the memory of Ohm’s mother as they all come together in this one figure. The film does not over explain her, and that restraint works in its favor. She exists as both a literal threat and a symbolic one, something Ohm must escape and something he must confront.

What Doesn’t Work

Then there is the window. It’s the one moment in the film that stands out as a clear point of failure. When Ohm is trapped in the honeymoon suite there is a window in room that he never attempts to break. Not once! On the surface, this feels like a logic issue, because breaking the window would seem like the most obvious way to escape or at least signal for help.

The more I think about it, the more that choice feels intentional because literally every person I know would be breaking the window to escape, but Ohm doesn’t. It’s almost like he’s just trapped in his own head and that he doesn’t have the ability to save himself because he is so busy trying to get other people to help save him. It’s only after he confronts the deeper issues inside him that he seems capable of breaking the chain that bind him. That does not completely address the frustration about the window, but it does give the moment a level of thematic meaning that fits with the rest of the film.

Breaking the Cycle

Everything ultimately builds toward that moment of does he or doesn’t he break the cycle that has chained him down emotionally for most of his life. When Ohm finds himself trapped in the hotel’s basement, surrounded by chains and remnants that suggest others may have been there before him, the film brings together all of its symbolic elements. The chalk markings, the hanging charms that resemble offerings you might find on a fairy tree, and the potential physical presence of the witch all contribute to a sense that this is not just a single event, but part of something larger.

The suggestion that others may have been trapped there before him adds another layer to the story that is never addressed. So, it just lingers in your mind as a horrific implication of what could happen to him, if he doesn’t figure out how to survive. In that moment, the folklore stops being abstract and becomes something tangible that is as physical as it is psychological.

Recommendation

This transformation is reflected in the story that Ohm is writing about the conquistador and the final choice that the character makes in the end. By the time we reach the conclusion, Ohm’s story has changed, and I am intentionally avoiding spoilers here because change doesn’t necessarily mean life or death when dealing with Irish folklore. I’ll leave that to you to decide.

So, is Hokum ticket worthy? Is it worth your time?

If you are a fan of horror or Irish folklore, I think it’s an easy yes. Horror fans are likely to enjoy this one, even if there are a few moments that are a little slow or frustrating because the supernatural elements and the storylines are so well developed. However, the real strength of the film is in its themes. It blends folklore, psychological uncertainty, and emotional depth into this compelling story that will keep you chained to the screen to see what happens next.

So, Hokum, have you seen it? Do you love horror? What did you think about this film? I am a big fan of Irish horror and mythology. So, this one was a no-brainer for me, but I’d really love to know what you think.

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