AceShowbiz - The horror movie Hokum, directed by Damian McCarthy and starring Adam Scott as the protagonist Ohm Bauman, is known for its chilling atmosphere and bleak themes. However, the film’s director recently disclosed that the original ending was even darker than the one audiences will see upon its release. McCarthy shared details revealing that Ohm’s fate was far more grim in the initial script.

Hokum follows Ohm Bauman, a horror novelist who travels to a remote hotel in Ireland to scatter his deceased parents’ ashes. At the hotel, he encounters rumors of a witch haunting the premises. The film’s cast also includes Peter Coonan, David Wilmot, Will O’Connell, and Florence Ordesh.

In an interview with Inverse, McCarthy disclosed that in the original version of Hokum, Ohm does not survive. Instead, he remains trapped in the basement dumbwaiter, never escaping the witch’s grasp. This ending was ultimately scrapped because McCarthy felt it was excessively bleak. He questioned whether audiences would be willing to revisit the film with such a hopeless conclusion.

The director explained, "In the original scripts, he doesn't survive. He doesn't make it out of the basement at all. It just felt too bleak. I was going, 'Is anybody going to rewatch this? Is it going to be entertaining?'" He also connected the original ending to the film’s symbolic use of a ram’s skull, which appears early on and is tied to notions of hope. The skull’s presence in the desert suggests that what Ohm undergoes at the hotel deeply changes him.

While the final version of Hokum remains a dark film, it opts for a more nuanced conclusion. The story opens with the revelation that both of Ohm’s parents are deceased, setting a somber tone from the outset. Ohm’s grief manifests in abrasive behavior towards other characters such as Alby and Fiona. His emotional turmoil escalates to the point where he attempts suicide while at the hotel, though he survives.

The film’s themes of guilt and regret are further intensified by a disturbing backstory: Ohm’s mother, previously said to have died in a shooting incident, was in fact accidentally killed by Ohm himself as a child. The ten-year-old Ohm unintentionally fired his father’s gun, resulting in her death. This revelation deepens the emotional weight of the film and explains much of Ohm’s pain and self-loathing.

McCarthy’s decision to alter the ending also aligns with Ohm’s evolving outlook throughout the movie. Upon arriving at the hotel, Ohm is a pessimist who intends to conclude his own book series with a bleak finale in which both the Conquistador and a young boy perish in the desert. However, Fiona challenges this perspective, telling Ohm she wouldn’t want to read such a hopeless story. This moment can be interpreted as a subtle hint from McCarthy himself toward a more hopeful narrative.

Instead of leaving viewers with a tale solely centered on devastation and loss, Hokum ultimately becomes a story about transformation and the possibility of redemption. Through confronting his traumatic past and surviving the horrors of the hotel, Ohm embarks on a path toward personal growth and optimism.

Despite its grim atmosphere and emotional heaviness, Hokum balances despair with a message that change is possible, even after profound suffering. The film’s haunting narrative, combined with the performances of Adam Scott and the supporting cast, makes it a compelling entry in the horror genre that explores the complexity of grief and the hope for renewal.

Hokum was released on May 1, 2026, with a runtime of 101 minutes. Damian McCarthy directed and wrote the film, continuing his exploration of horror following his 2024 movie Oddity. Fans of atmospheric horror will likely find Hokum both unsettling and thought-provoking, especially with the knowledge of the original, bleaker ending that was ultimately set aside for a more nuanced conclusion.