Episode 137: Damian McCarthy’s Hokum (2026)

Rotten Tomato Score: 90%

A horror movie gets a 90% Rotten Tomatoes score, a listener tells us to watch it, and suddenly we’re debating witches, grief, and whether the entire plot is even real. Hokum drops us into an isolated Irish inn where a horror writer arrives to scatter his parents’ ashes and instead finds a missing woman, a sealed-off suite, and a haunting that escalates fast. We also attempt the “Irish Honeymoon” sinister sip inspired by magic milk, and it goes about as well as you’d expect when half and half meets whiskey. 

We break down first impressions versus second-watch appreciation, including why Adam Scott’s character is so hard to root for and why that might be the point. Then we get granular on the horror craft: claustrophobic dumbwaiter scenes, creepy statue tableaus, face-flash jump scares, and sound design that builds dread without smothering every moment in music cues. If you love haunted hotel movies, folk horror vibes, and tight-space tension, there’s a lot here to chew on. 

The real fun starts when we pull at the loose threads: the timeline problems, the missing cell phones, the questionable logic of that untouched bathtub water, and the ending beat that re-frames everything. Is the witch lore literal, or are we watching a drugged, traumatized spiral that turns guilt into monsters?

Sinister Sips

Irish Honeymoon
From: The Martini Shot

Recipe:

• 2 oz Irish whiskey

• 1 oz apple juice

• ½ oz honey syrup

• ¼ oz lemon juice

• ¼ oz Benedictine

• ½ oz half and half

Preparation Instructions

1. Add all ingredients (except the cream/half and half) to a cocktail shaker.

2. Add ice and shake well to thoroughly chill the mix.

3. Add the half and half last(this keeps it from curdling with the citrus) and shake again briefly.

4. Strain the mixture into a chilled coupe glass.

5. Serve with a heart shaped out of apple chips

Plot Summary:

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

Watchability Scale

Sam and Mike gave the film a 7. Chad liked the film a bit more and gave it an 8. We placed the film at 7.5 on the Watchability Scale.

Links

Rotten Tomatoes Page

IMDb page