The Art of Hokum

I guess it’s thematically appropriate that ever since I saw Hokum last week, I’ve been haunted by regret. In my case, it’s because my take on it was positive, and I hope it came across as a clear recommendation, but it was still overly dismissive of everything the movie was trying to do. Even after acknowledging that it’s reductive “stay in your lane” mentality to want an artist to just keep making the same thing you liked over and over again, I still did exactly that. Praising the contemporary take on horror folklore creeps and scares, and shrugging off the central character arc. I went back and watched it again1, and I had a better appreciation for how well it’s structured, once I was paying attention to the movie on the screen instead of the one that was playing out in my head. Plus, it was simply nice to see the jump scares being more effective in a more crowded theater. And it made me realize a few interesting things not just about Hokum, but about the current state of horror…