Is Adam Scott the New King of Horror? 🎥 Why Hokum is a Total Fever Dream! 🐴 Imagine being so absolutely done with humanity that you decide to press a burning hot spoon into a bellboy's hand just to prove a point about "thick skin."
We have all known Adam Scott as the lovable, slightly stressed-out Ben Wyatt or the cynical Henry Pollard, but in his latest venture into the dark woods of Ireland, he is giving us something entirely different. The movie is called Hokum, and honestly, the title is the only thing about this film that feels like a prank. Directed by Damian McCarthy, this film is a masterclass in how to take a protagonist who is let's be real, kind of a jerk, and make the audience follow him into the jaws of a literal monster. Scott plays Ohm Bauman, an American author who looks like he hasn't slept since the Clinton administration. He arrives at the Bilberry Woods Hotel with a jar of ashes and a massive chip on his shoulder.
The vibe of the hotel is immediately "get out," but Ohm is too busy being traumatized by his late father's cruelty and his own failing career to notice the red flags. What makes this performance so captivating is that Scott doesn't try to make Ohm likable. In the opening scenes, he is dismissive, elitist, and borderline abusive to the staff. When he burns that poor bellboy, you’re sitting there thinking, "Okay, I hope the ghost gets this guy first." But as the story unfolds and the Irish folklore starts to bleed into reality, something shifts. You realize that Ohm’s unpleasantness is just a shield. He is the ultimate everyman because he represents that part of us that is tired, skeptical, and deeply afraid of the past catching up to us.
The Bilberry Woods Hotel is a character in its own right. It’s rustic, decaying, and filled with people who feel like they’ve stepped out of a dark fairytale. You have the creepy owner, the needy clerk, and the local oddballs who all seem to know something Ohm doesn't. But because Ohm is an outsider, he acts as our surrogate. When he scoffs at the local legends, we scoff with him. When he finally sees a nightmare creature known as Jack the Jackass, yes, that is the name, and yes, it will haunt your dreams, his reaction is so visceral and human that you can’t help but be pulled in. Adam Scott has this incredible ability to look at something supernatural and react with a mix of "I’m terrified" and "I don't have time for this," which is the most relatable energy ever.
One of the biggest hurdles for any horror movie is the "stupid character" trope. You know the one where the girl runs upstairs instead of out the front door. Hokum is packed with these moments. Ohm makes decisions that are objectively terrible. He investigates locked suites, stays in a building that is clearly trying to unalive him, and ignores every warning sign written in blood. Normally, this would ruin a movie for me. I’d be screaming at the screen. But Scott’s performance anchors the absurdity. He plays Ohm with such a heavy sense of inevitability. It’s like he knows he’s doomed, so he might as well see the horror through to the end. It turns the movie from a standard slasher into a psychological deep-dive into grief and folklore.
The transition of Adam Scott from a sitcom staple to a horror heavyweight has been a long time coming. If you look back at his early career, like his stint as a bully in Boy Meets World or his roles in cult classics, he’s always had this sharp edge. In Hokum, he finally leans into the darkness. He isn't the hero we want, but he is the hero we deserve in a world that feels increasingly like a horror movie. The film weaves together his personal trauma with ancient myths in a way that feels seamless, even when it’s confusing. There’s a fictional kids' show involved, there are conquistadors, and there is a basement that looks like the entrance to hell. It’s a lot, but Scott holds it all together with those bangs and that unkempt beard.
By the time we get to the third act, the skepticism is gone. Ohm is fighting for his life, and we are right there with him. The creature design for Jack the Jackass is one of the most unsettling things I’ve seen in years. It’s not just a jump scare; it’s a lingering sense of wrongness. The way Scott scrambles away from the dumbwaiter or recoils when a donkey man shoves his face through a curtain is pure cinema gold. He allows us to identify that everything happening is unrealistic, yet he gives us every reason to stay. It’s a paradox that only a truly great everyman actor can pull off.
Ultimately, Hokum is a reminder that horror doesn't always need a perfect protagonist. Sometimes, we just need someone who is as tired and frustrated as we are. Adam Scott proves that he can convince an audience to go along with literally anything even a spoon-burning, ghost-hunting, ash-scattering trip through the Irish countryside. If you’re looking for a film that is as smart as it is scary, this is it. It’s a brutal, honest, and often funny look at what happens when our past literally comes back to haunt us. And honestly, I’ll never look at a donkey or a spoon the same way again.
Adam Scott represents us on screen because he’s not a superhero. He’s just a guy trying to get through the day while the world falls apart around him. Whether he’s in Pawnee or a haunted Irish hotel, that energy is universal. Hokum is a certified banger, and if you haven't seen it yet, you’re basically inviting Jack the Jackass into your own living room. Consider yourselves warned.
Whether you’re here for the folklore or just to see Adam Scott lose his mind, one thing is certain: you’ll never look at a hotel honeymoon suite the same way again.
