Originally known for comedies like 2008’s Step Brothers that cast him as a smug jerk, Adam Scott branched out over the years, with his part in the psychological thriller series Severance as probably his biggest current claim to fame. With 2026's Hokum, we find Scott as the lead in a supernatural horror tale.

A popular author, Ohm Bauman (Scott) finds it difficult to complete the final part of a trilogy of novels. One night he believes he sees the ghost of his mother and this sends him on a journey.

Ohm travels to Ireland to scatter his parents' ashes at the rural inn where they spent their honeymoon. While there, he hears tales of a witch who allegedly haunts the facility and he goes down a terrifying path.

Though my opening implies Hokum offers a new genre entry for Scott, that doesn't hold true. He actually has appeared in a decent chunk of horror flicks over the years.

Still, one doesn't associate that brand of film with the actor. As such, Hokum probably feels like a detour for most viewers.

Though given that Ohm offers an unpleasant and arrogant personality, perhaps Hokum feels like less of a shift for Scott than the genre domain might imply. While he lacks the smugness of Scott’s early roles, Ohm certainly presents an unlikable role.

Which Scott embodies well, and he brings added layers to the part too. He allows the character to evolve as the tale unfolds.

Unfortunately, Hokum becomes a spotty affair. After a good start, it tends to ramble more than I’d prefer.

Hokum fares best in its first half. It sets up the situations and characters in a positive manner that hints at greater intrigue and depth to come.

Unfortunately, the film’s final 50 minutes or so don’t live up to the opening. Rather than draw us in, the tale rambles so much that we lose a lot of interest.

Not all interest, as we remain curious to see what will happen to Ohm and the secondary characters. However, the plot simply meanders too much and doesn’t seem especially involving.

Which seems like a shame, as the movie’s “haunted hotel” conceit comes with promise. Not that this acts as a new genre concept, but Hokum comes with the ability to give it new life.

In the end, it doesn’t, mainly because the movie’s second half just fails to find real focus. Hokum remains watchable but it disappoints in the end.

Hokum appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. Expect a solid presentation here.

Overall sharpness worked fine. Only minor softness crept into the image during some wider shots so the movie usually remained tight and precise.

Neither jagged edges nor moiré effects impacted the proceedings, and I witnessed no edge haloes. Source flaws also stayed absent.

Hokum opted for a palette that heavily leaned toward amber/gold as well as some teal. The hues appeared well-represented given those stylistic decisions and HDR added some impact to the tones.

Blacks felt deep and dense - albeit a little darker than expected at times - while low-light elements offered appealing clarity. HDR brought vivacity to whites an contrast. Ultimately, I found myself pleased with the visuals.

In terms of the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio, it went with a fairly standard “scary movie” soundscape. This meant an emphasis on creepy atmosphere.

This works fine for the tale at hand, as the elements flesh out the room in a positive manner. Throw in occasional louder “boo moments” and the soundfield satisfied.

Audio quality came across well, with music that seemed full and rich. Speech remained natural and distinctive, without edginess or other problems.

Effects boasted solid bite and impact, with nice low-end as well. Though not especially ambitious, the soundtrack suited the film.

How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray version? Both brought identical audio.

In terms of visuals, the UHD looked a bit better defined and came with superior contrast, though it also felt darker than the BD. This meant I still preferred the UHD but thought its improvements came with that trade-off.

The disc comes with a mix of extras, and we open with an audio commentary from writer/director Damian McCarthy. He delivers a running, screen-specific discussion of inspirations and influences, story and characters, sets and locations, cast and performances, various effects, music, editing, and related topics.

McCarthy delivers a thoroughly satisfying chat. He covers a good array of domains and does so in a concise and engaging manner.

The Making of Hokum goes for 15 minutes, 48 seconds. We hear from McCarthy, director of photography Colm Hogan, production designer Til Frohlich, makeup designer Niamh O’Loan, costume designer Lara Campbell, hair designer Jennie Readman, producers Derek Dauchy and Steven Schneider, executive producer Rami Yasin, and actors Adam Scott, Sioux C, Florence Odesh, Peter Coonan, David Wilmot, and Austin Amelio.

The featurette gets into story/characters, genre domains, cast and performances, McCarthy’s efforts as director, sets and locations, various effects, hair and costumes, “Making” becomes a decent overview but it lacks depth.

In addition to both teaser and theatrical trailers, the disc finishes with Jack the Donkey, A Family Favorite, a two-minute, three-second segment that shows the kiddie TV show that haunts Ohm. We already see most of this in the final film so this feels superfluous.

Although parts of Hokum connect, too much of the movie seems a bit meandering. While it never loses the viewer, it fails to live up to its potential. The 4K UHD comes with positive picture and audio along with a few supplements highlighted by a quality commentary. This ends up as a decent but erratic horror tale.