STORYLINE: A horror  writer visits an Irish inn to scatter his parents’ ashes, unaware the property is said to be haunted by a witch. (IMDb)

  “ Double, double toil, and trouble/fire, burn and cauldron boil” – Macbeth. 

    Witches and witchcraft run the gambit of motion pictures.  Dario Argento’s incredible 1977 Suspuria checks the horror box.  Practical Magic (1998) covers fantasy films. Teen Witch (1989) and The Crucible (1996) represent the comedy and drama genres. What am I missing? Oh yeah, family films. That’s where Hocus Pocus (1993) steps in.  Hokum, currently crafting spell over cinemas, is a new witch film in the horror genre.

   Films about witches are some of the easiest films to set in any place and time. The Witch (2015) took place in the 1600s New England, while The Blair Witch Project (1999) was set in the 1990s woods of Maryland. Hokum takes places in modern day Ireland, in an isolated hotel. 

    The film has similar vibes to Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980).  Both movies are set in an isolated hotel.  They feature the hotel that are nearly empty, and both stories feature supernatural events. Both movies have an atmosphere slow pace that ramps up to a frantic, almost hectic, climax.  Much like The Shining, that formula works well for Hokum.

   The scares are done well, in this feature.  There are plenty of jump scares, and lots of moments that go bump in the night. There are moments of gore in the film.  I don’t mind moments of gore, when they are there to support the story, like they are here. 

    I enjoyed the Easter eggs to classic horror films of yesteryear sprinkled throughout. They were subtle, and to some of my favorite films of the genre. 

   Hokum is an Irish horror film about witchcraft.  It’s atmospheric, with some wonderful scares. 

   Until next time, I will see you at the movies!