'Hokum' is an Original Horror Folktale that Brilliantly Crafts Mystery and Psychological Terror

I could not wait to watch Hokum until Friday, and I was so happy I was able to catch a Thursday night showing. I was shocked to see how many people had come to watch this film, and man, this was the perfect audience to watch the movie with. Everyone, including myself, were freaking out during the film. While the film was scary in several scenes, the storytelling was just as shocking as the nightmare the main character finds himself stuck in. 

The film was so intriguing, the trailer barely gave anything away when it came to the story. I already knew the film was going to be based on a supernatural terror, but there was much more to the story than what I was expecting. The film is a combination of mystery, horror, tragedy, and drama. 

Please turn back now if you don't want to be spoiled by this film. I highly recommend you go watch this movie in theaters. I guarantee for any horror fan, this will be one of your favorite horror films of the year. 

We follow the story of a writer named Ohm Bauman, who is planning to spread the ashes of his parents at their favorite hotel.

Ohm Bauman is working on the final chapter of his most popular book trilogy, but he appears to be haunted by a mysterious creepy woman. Ohm doesn't seem that shaken up by these strange hauntings, and heads off to a hotel where his parents had stayed in the honeymoon suite. He plans to spread their ashes by a tree that his mother had once posed with for a picture, that was taken by his father. He meets a homeless man named Jerry, who does seem strange, but he appears friendly. 

Ohm later goes on to speak with a hotel staff member, named Fiona, who takes a liking to him. He learns about a mystery witch living in the honeymoon suite, who apparently takes men to Hell, where they will forever suffer. In order to protect yourself from the witch, you must draw a circle with chalk and step into it, to avoid getting caught. 

He also speaks to a bell boy named Alby, who he treats like total crap, because Ohm is a bit of an asshole, and he even goes as far to burn Alby's hand with a spoon he had stuffed into a lighted up pumpkin. He goes back to his room after this crazy encounter, and Fiona realizes he has forgotten significant items, such as his mom's photo. 

She goes back to his room, sensing that something is wrong. Alby helps her open his room, and they both panic when they find Ohm has hanged himself. They cut him down, and he is sent to the hospital. 

Ohm recovers after a couple of weeks, and goes back to the hotel to collect his things. He learns that the hotel is closing for the season, and when he asks the front desk clerk, Mal, where he can find Fiona to thank her, he learns an unsettling truth. 

Fiona had gone missing shortly after Ohm was admitted to the hospital, and people have no idea where she is. 

Ohm becomes determined to find Fiona, and he decides to team up with Jerry, who was suspected of murdering his wife. Apparently, his wife was very ill, and Jerry wanted to give her peace. Jerry also reveals that he had seen the ghost of Fiona, pointing to the honeymoon suite, hinting that she was there. Ohm reluctantly accepts Jerry's stories, and they head off together to break into the hotel. 

One of the hotel staff, Fergal, assumes that Jerry is the one who made Fiona disappear, and knocks him out, dragging him to his car to take to the police. He never notices Ohm, and he is able to sneak up into the honeymoon suite to search for Fiona. 

Ohm discovers a terrifying secret.

Ohm searches through the honeymoon suite, and realizes that the suite is indeed haunted. He is now experiencing psychological terror, and we even see a disturbing truth about how his mother had died. Ohm had killed his mother by accident with his father's gun, and this tragedy led to his father's death much later. 

Ohm awakens to find Mal, and he tells him they need to leave. Ohm talks about a dumbwaiter in the suite, asking if Fiona possibly could have gone done there. Mal assures him that no one is down there, but Ohm refuses to listen. He presses a button to make the dumbwaiter move up, and he shockingly discovers the dead body of Fiona. 

Mal locks Ohm in the suite, and runs away. Ohm discovers a tape from Fiona, and he learns about why she was killed. Mal and Fiona had an affair, and she ended up pregnant with his child. Mal already had a family, and was terrified of this secret getting out. He drugged Fiona during the Halloween party, and left her on the dumbwaiter, leaving her to die. 

Meanwhile, Jerry wakes up from being knocked out by Fergal, and jumps out of the van, preparing to make his way back to the hotel. 

Ohn continues to go through supernatural hauntings as he tries to escape the suite.

Ohm is targeted by more hauntings, including a terrifying entity known as Jack the Donkey, who appears on a television screen, mocking Ohm for killing his mother. Ohm finds a way to get the basement, and comes up with a trick to have the dumbwaiter move on its own. He goes to the basement, and realizes there is no way out. He finds a piece of chalk, that can be used to protect yourself from a witch. 

He makes his way back to the dumbwaiter when he discovers a witch does exist, and he barely makes it back to the suite. The witch crawls up the walls of the dumbwaiter, and he uses the chalk to draw a circle around the bed, barely saving himself from the witch. 

We cut back to Mal, who has returned to the suite to make sure Ohm will be killed. He finds Jerry back at the hotel, attempting to break into the suite. He convinces Jerry to leave, but he comes back, determined to find Fiona. He hears the bell ring to the honeymoon suite, thanks to Ohm, and he goes to the suite. Mal decides to burn down the hotel, and goes to the suite to murder Jerry with a crossbow, right before Ohm is able to escape. 

Ohm retrieves the key from Jerry's body, preventing Mal from escaping. He goes to the basement to get away from Mal, and the witch is waiting for him. He uses the chalk to save himself, but he is too late. Mal arrives to the basement, and he is also captured by the witch. She wraps chains around both of their wrists, and she drags Mal to a deadly fate, straight to Hell. 

While Ohm is distraught, his mother appears to him, telling him that it wasn't his fault, her death was only an accident. Ohm then uses a tool to escape from the chains, as he watches Mal's awful fate. He escapes from the basement, and is able to get to the elevator to escape the hotel. He passes out, as the fire is engulfing the hotel. Fergal arrives, and Fiona's voice is faintly heard, her spirit alerting him to save Ohm. They escape the hotel, and Ohm is back in the hospital. 

He reunites with Alby, and he learns that Alby had spiked his drink, because he was angry at how Ohm had treated him before. Ohm looks down at his wrists, seeing red marks, realizing that the supernatural encounter was real. He shares a bittersweet moment with Alby, telling him that he wouldn't mind reading a manuscript that Alby is working on. 

The movie ends with Ohm opening up his laptop, to write a much more hopeful ending to his popular book trilogy. 

This movie was an incredible experience. It was one of the best horror movies I have seen, and I think Hokum is now in my top 10 horror films of all time. 

Hokum is an original Irish folktale that will leave you amazed and scared from beginning to end. 

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Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn