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'Hokum' Review: Damian McCarthy does it again with Adam Scott-led thriller

Newsweek · · 505 words · By Austin Boyd
film criticism Independent Cinema vs. Studio IP
open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.newsweek.com/entertainment/movies/hokum-review-damian-mccarthy-does-…

psychologyDetected Techniques

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Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

7 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

verified Verified By Reference 3
info Single Source 2
cancel Disputed 1
check_circle Corroborated 1
verified
“Irish director Damian McCarthy has chosen to focus on original ideas.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia confirms Damian McCarthy is an Irish filmmaker.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Caveat is a 2020 horror film written, directed, and edited by Damian McCarthy in his feature directorial debut. Starring Johnny French and Leila Sykes, it follows a drifter suffering from partial memo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caveat_(film)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Damian McCarthy (born 16 January 1981) is an Irish filmmaker. He is best known for directing the horror films Caveat (2020), Oddity (2024) and Hokum (2026).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damian_McCarthy
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Hokum is a 2026 Gothic supernatural horror film written and directed by Damian McCarthy. The film stars Adam Scott as an author who travels to a hotel in Ireland, unaware that it may be haunted. Peter…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hokum_(film)
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“His first film, "Caveat," came out in 2020”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia explicitly states 'Caveat' is a 2020 horror film and McCarthy's feature directorial debut.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Damian McCarthy (born 16 January 1981) is an Irish filmmaker. He is best known for directing the horror films Caveat (2020), Oddity (2024) and Hokum (2026).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damian_McCarthy
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Hokum is a 2026 Gothic supernatural horror film written and directed by Damian McCarthy. The film stars Adam Scott as an author who travels to a hotel in Ireland, unaware that it may be haunted. Peter…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hokum_(film)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Oddity is a 2024 Irish horror film written and directed by Damian McCarthy. It follows a blind medium and curio shopkeeper who is still grieving the death of her twin sister a year prior when a wooden…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oddity_(film)
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“2024's "Oddity," which holds a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.”
SINGLE SOURCE
Wikipedia confirms 'Oddity' is a 2024 film directed by Damian McCarthy, but the provided evidence does not contain the specific Rotten Tomatoes score of 96%.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On the film review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, films that every surveyed critic considered poor have a 0% rating. As of February 2026, only 44 films with either a critic's consensus or more t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_with_a_0%_rating…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, a film has a rating of 100% if each professional review recorded by the website is assessed as positive rather than negative. The percentage is based …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_with_a_100%_rati…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Se…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotten_Tomatoes
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“this year's "Hokum" was released less than two years after "Oddity."”
DISPUTED
The claim states 'Hokum' was released this year (2024) less than two years after 'Oddity'. However, Wikipedia and web search results explicitly state 'Hokum' is a 2026 film.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term via the Electoral College. Under the U.S. Constitution, the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_Unit…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is the definite article in English. The, or THE, may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_(disambiguation)
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“The Adam Scott-led horror film [Hokum] has already been McCarthy's biggest box office hit”
SINGLE SOURCE
While evidence confirms 'Hokum' stars Adam Scott and is directed by McCarthy, there is no data provided regarding box office earnings or whether it is his biggest hit.
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web search NEUTRAL — Hokum is a 2026 supernatural horror film written and directed by Damian McCarthy. The film stars Adam Scott as an author who travels to a hotel in Ireland, unaware that it may be haunted.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hokum_(film)
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web search NEUTRAL — 5 days ago · Hokum: Directed by Damian McCarthy. With Adam Scott, Peter Coonan, David Wilmot, Austin Amelio. A horror writer visits an Irish inn to scatter his parents' ashes, unaware the property is …
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt35672862/
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web search NEUTRAL — “Hokum” is a deceptively simple piece of storytelling: An angry, alcoholic writer who basically travels to Hell to learn the truth about a missing woman. But that doesn’t detract from the remarkable c…
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hokum-adam-scott-film-rev…
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“"Hokum" is about renowned writer Ohm Bauman (Scott) traveling to Ireland to spread his parents' ashes in the forest near the hotel where they honeymooned.”
CORROBORATED
Wikipedia and IMDb both confirm the plot involves Adam Scott as an author/writer traveling to a hotel in Ireland to scatter his parents' ashes.
verified
“Bauman... does become friendly with a bartender named Fiona (Florence Ordesh).”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia's entry for 'Hokum' lists Florence Ordesh as a cast member, and the plot involves the protagonist traveling to Ireland, though the specific 'friendly bartender' detail is most strongly supported by the cast list in the reference.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.