Hokum

Hokum Review: Contrived & annoying, but well-crafted

Brighton Nelson

20 Apr 2026 — 6 min read

Two horror films dropped early at my local Regal theater for the Monday Mystery Movie event: this film in the "Nightmares" category, and Over Your Dead Body in the "Scares" category. This is always my favorite way to see new movies, as I never know what I'm going to get! So, what experience did Hokum give me? Did it live up to the idea of being nightmare fuel, or did it just pale in comparison to Over Your Dead Body? That's what I, Brighton Nelson of The Reel Ranker, will discuss in today's review. Thanks so much for joining me, and I hope you enjoy this article!

This scene is the best part of the movie. You've seen this picture, you've got all you need from this film.

I just feel like switching things up today, so I'm going to start with the positives. First of all, the setting and production design here were immaculate. The intricate inn in which the film takes place is a truly memorable location. Full of labyrinthine rooms and tense spaces, it's just the type of setting a great horror flick should have. The folklore elements and the woods' atmospheric nature amplify the setting and the horror wonderfully! This is likely to be one of your new favorite horror settings if you love haunted-house movies.

I also appreciated the blending of the haunted-house, witch, and ghost subgenres, with a sprinkle of human evil for good measure. It does a great job of making its horror elements feel cohesive without clashing. The macabre is also beautiful in this film, and its dark and creepy imagery is intriguing to behold. The performances also amplify this, as Adam Scott, David Wilmot, and others do a fantastic job in their roles.

The most horrifying part about this movie is how bad this character is.

Unfortunately, and quite controversially (it seems), that's where the positives end for me, as much as the performances are great and the setting is brilliant. The main character, Ohm Bauman, is stupid and unlikable to a fault. The whole entire time, I was genuinely rooting for him to die because he honestly deserved it—such a character is a very easy way to let all the tension out of the balloon. A jerk that talks down to everyone around them and is a piece of crap can make for an interesting character, but only if there's enough character work done for them. Look at Linda Little in the recent flick Send Help, for instance. By the end of the film, she's done terrible things, but since her character is well developed, it works out. Here, he's such a cranky, rude bastard who already wants to die (and is a terrible representation of people who want to be authors, like me), so all the possible tension is let out of the bag.

And that's assuming there was a lot of tension in the first place... There's not. One, it's so obvious that the lady is in there, and the police should've been called immediately. Two, the whole film, the main character is one tiny wall away from freedom. With how old the wood is, even a stupid embarrassment wimp like him could've bashed it open with his arm. Three, there's a hole in the wall... Kick right to the right of the hole, and you're free, even if you break a bone or three jumping down. It's one thing to make stupid decisions when being chased by Ghostface or Michael Myers or something... But it's a whole other thing to descend down an elevator into a basement where you know there are demons, and you can literally leave at will. I don't usually get too bothered by plot contrivances, but this was a whole new level of terrible... Some of the most ridiculous, terrible contrivances I've ever seen in a film in all my years of living.

Contrivances aside, the plot here is almost as thin as The Super Mario Bros. Galaxy Movie. I was bored to tears, following this horrible character to literally nothing for 2 hours—I've never been so shocked by a Rotten Tomatoes score in my whole life. I literally recoiled like an abused child when I saw this film had a 97%. If the actors weren't perfectly selling their roles and the atmosphere wasn't so good, this'd probably be in the running for my top 10 least favorite horror films of all time list.

The whole second half of this film felt pointless haha.

The Verdict

Reel or Unreel? - Reel
The Reel Ranker Score: 35%
Letter Score: D
Star Ranking: 2 out of 5

I hate to say it, but Hokum is an absolute disappointment, especially given how highly rated it is—this is one of those films I simply don't understand the hype for. To me, it's one of 2026's weakest offerings. Remove its decent performances and good visuals, and you've got one of the most contrived, unscary, and annoying horror films I've ever watched.

Check out Over Your Dead Body, the other secret screening I watched tonight!