Hokum 4K 2026

The film "Hokum" reminded me of Stephen King’s "1408" and "The Shining"—it, too, tells the story of a writer who finds himself trapped in a cursed room in a sinister hotel, though the plot as a whole is quite ambiguous. In fact, it reminded me of the video games "Silent Hill 2", about a personal Purgatory, and "Amnesia", about surviving in terror with only a kerosene lamp for company. The atmosphere here is spot-on; I have no complaints about the director in that regard. The only downside is that the theme of the protagonist’s inner turmoil and the nature of the Witch are underdeveloped; the latter is given very little screen time. There’s also a mystery element, but, in my opinion, it’s purely for show. The supporting characters are poorly developed, with the exception of the hermit Jerry. In every other respect, "Hokum" tells the story of a one-way journey that turns into a kind of "Divine Comedy".

According to the plot, writer Om Bauman has been tormented since childhood by guilt over a misdeed, which in recent years has become utterly unbearable. Determined to end his life, he travels to an Irish hotel where his parents had once been happy, scatters their ashes, and hangs himself in his room. By a twist of fate—and despite his resentment—he is saved by the bartender, Fiona. Later, Om returns from the hospital to thank her, but discovers that his savior has vanished and that the staff is shrouded in an ominous silence. Teaming up with a local eccentric named Jerry, the writer decides to wait until the hotel closes for the holidays and search for Fiona in the sealed honeymoon suite, where a witch is said to dwell. It’s up to the viewer to decide whether there’s any mysticism in the film or not, though the hints suggesting its absence seemed a bit weak to me, lacking a smooth transition. Early in the story, hallucinogenic mushrooms are mentioned in conversation, but the protagonist didn’t take them—instead, he got pretty drunk, which is unlikely to have caused everything. All in all, the plot twist didn’t work.

Overall, "Hokum" is a fairly watchable movie, but only once. The atmosphere is fine, but the script doesn’t really grab you.