LOS ANGELES, April 27 (UPI) — Hokum, in theaters Friday, is an effective horror movie with a challenging protagonist. Lovable Adam Scott embraces his dark side and the film meets him there.

Author Ohm Bauman (Scott) visits the Irish hotel where his parents honeymooned to scatter their ashes. He does not make fast friends with the staff.

Bartender Fiona (Florence Ordesh) tells him the honeymoon suite has been locked for years since owner Cob (Brendan Conroy) believes he trapped a witch there. Ohm is skeptical, but Hokum is a horror movie so there’s probably something to the story.

Ohm is abrasive at best and overtly mean when engaged. A bellman (Will O’Connell), who is an aspiring author, is annoying but Ohm humiliates him and then assaults him when he still won’t leave.

Since Ohm is a writer, his nastiness has wit. He could use that wit to be friendly, or at least decent, but he chooses poison.

And yet, once he discovers the horrors of the honeymoon suite, Ohm is the only character honest enough to confront it rather than bury it behind locked doors. He also meets Jerry (David Wilmot) living in the woods who is also suspicious, but the community has already ostracised Jerry.

Writer/director Damian McCarthy stages a lot of movement in the dark behind Ohm. If that’s too subtle, there are also jump scares of sudden appearances. A creepy children’s show on a television taunts Ohm about his childhood trauma in one of the more surreal moments.

McCarthy films the honeymoon suite with very little light, intentionally shrouded in shadow. Any exposed portion of the frame directs the eye to the illuminated highlight.

Ultimately, Ohm must contend with both human and supernatural evils. When he takes his chances with the supernatural over the human, everything Hokum has been setting up comes together.

Whether McCarthy drew from historic Irish folklore or created his own, the ghosts and monsters of Hokum are distinct in a genre full of them. Exploring them through the eyes of an acerbic protagonist makes for a compelling film.

Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.