Adam Scott Was Excited Returning To Rare Villain Role In New Horror Movie Hokum

Adam Scott is not only back in the horror genre with Hokum, but also getting to tap into his rare villain sensibilities.

Marking the third feature effort from writer/director Damian McCarthy after his breakthrough success with Oddity, the upcoming horror film stars Scott as Ohm Bauman, a reclusive novelist who, in the wake of his parents’ death, heads to a remote inn in the Irish countryside, where they once spent their honeymoon. Initially aiming to scatter their ashes there, Ohm begins to learn of the chilling past of the inn’s honeymoon suite, and as one of the staff goes missing, he finds himself confronted by haunting visions tied to his past.

Scott, in his latest horror effort after Osgood Perkins’ adaptation of Stephen King’s The Monkey, stars alongside Bad Sisters‘ Peter Coonan, House of Guinness‘ David Wilmot, The Walking Dead‘s Austin Amelio and Florence Ordesh, among others. Having made its world premiere on March 14 at SXSW, Hokum is thus far garnering largely positive reviews from critics.

In honor of its festival premiere, ScreenRant‘s Ash Crossan interviewed Adam Scott and Damian McCarthy in our SXSW media suite to discuss Hokum. When asked about his interest in joining the folk horror film, the four-time Emmy nominee began by praising the previous works of the writer/director, particularly describing 2024’s Oddity as being “extraordinary.”

Going on to praise Hokum‘s script as being “super interesting,” Scott recalled being specifically excited about the nature of Ohm as a character, as it allowed him to tap into more of a villain-type role than he’s generally known for. Unlike Parks and Recreation‘s Ben or Little Evil‘s Gary, among the many other “friendly, affable people” Scott has garnered acclaim playing, the star has been looking to “reverse course” and find roles in which he gets to play “not the most pleasant person in the world“:

Adam Scott: I thought where Damian was dropping that character in and the journey he put him on was super interesting and frightening. I was frightened by the script. I thought it was disturbing and just a lot of fun. So everything is what attracted me to it, actually. And it’s fun to do that when it’s well written, too. When it’s supported by an interesting story. So I felt like it was all there. I just needed to go in and not screw it up.

When asked why he felt Scott was the best person to be his Hokum lead, McCarthy began by explaining that the challenge of Ohm is he’s a “character [who is] on his own for a lot of the movie,” and goes for “long stretches with no dialogue.” As such, he needed an “actor that is very interesting to watch,” comparing the folk horror film to “a simple one-man show,” which he feels “Adam absolutely has.”

The writer/director also confessed that Scott’s note that “the character [is] not all that likable” at the start was also part of the challenge as it risked “los[ing] the audience at the start,” and thus put him on the back foot to “win them back.” Thankfully, McCarthy opined that Ohm is “still interesting” to follow, regardless of “how bad he gets” or “how nasty he is to other characters,” and was delighted Scott was keen to play the part:

Adam Scott: It was fun. We were shooting the movie, and I remember at a certain point, we had shot for a few weeks, and then we had three weeks in front of us where there was no dialogue. We had finished this part of the movie, and then we were just shooting me in a room and that was daunting. It was like, “Oh no, right. I’m going to have to just like try and carry this section of the movie without even saying anything.” I could not have had the power of speech and been able to shoot these scenes.

Hokum’s Title Has A Unique Thematic Tie To Scott’s character

ScreenRant: What is Hokum? What does that mean?

Damian McCarthy: The word itself is just nonsense, something kind of ridiculous. And I think for the film itself, it kind of reflects Adam’s character, who just doesn’t believe in any of the local folklore of witches and ghosts. And maybe a little bit deeper meaning of what’s going on with his character as well.

ScreenRant: Okay, because you’ve done Caveat, then Oddity, and now Hokum. You have these one-word titles, and then the poster kind of has a similar vibe. Are they cousins or connected in any way?

Damian McCarthy: There are no connections between the stories. It’s usually just like a prop or a place or a person, but it’s not trying to make any kind of a universe or anything like that. You don’t need to see the other movies. I just find it kind of entertaining to see some of them nod to another movie in there.

ScreenRant: What would you say are some of your influences? Who or what are some of your influences in this film or in your films in general?

Adam Scott’s Ohm looking shocked with his hand over his mouth in Hokum
Damian McCarthy: In general, it’s always going back to John Carpenter. The Thing and They Live, for this one in particular. It was anything where it’s a guy trying to survive the night. Evil Dead II, or something like a siege movie, where it’s one guy just battling one thing after another to try to make it to dawn. A big mix of stuff, really. A lot of ’80s cinema I always kind of go back to, just because there’s something kind of timeless about it. I think with our film, too, even the setting and the time and exactly when this takes place is quite vague. There’s no real technology in the movie, and there’s a mix of costumes, and the cars are all kind of old. I’ve done it in my other two films, as well. There’s something about it that, on some level, kind of throws the audience off a little bit. What is the setting? Maybe not realizing it upfront, but certainly there’s something about it that throws people off in a nice way.

ScreenRant: Well, we’re here at SXSW. It’s such a fun festival, and it’s the intersection of film and music. I’ve been asking everybody and getting such interesting answers. What is your favorite movie soundtrack of all time?

Adam Scott: Oh, that’s a good question. Like score or compilation of songs?

ScreenRant: You know, people keep asking me to clarify, and I’m like, I don’t know. I feel like it’s whatever comes first.

Damian McCarthy: There’s a movie called Southland Tales. Moby did the score for them, it’s a mix of score and existing songs. Muse had music for it. It’s a big mix of stuff. That’s why I’ve always liked it, I think, just because it’s a strange film, but the score and the soundtrack always made me revisit that film.

Adam Scott: For me, there’s a couple. There’s Grosse Pointe Blank, which is a movie that everyone should revisit or watch for the first time. It’s a terrific movie, and the soundtrack is great. It’s a class reunion, so it’s a lot of ’80s music, but it’s compiled and ordered in a sequence in a really fun way. I love the soundtrack to Stand By Me, to Animal House. It’s very, like, boomer music, but when I was in middle school, those were the soundtracks I was [listening to]. Stand By Me was coming out when I was the age of the guys in Stand By Me. So that runs deep, for whatever reason.

ScreenRant: Is there anything I haven’t touched on about the film that you want to stress or express to the audience before they sing?

Damian McCarthy: For me, I don’t think the film takes itself too seriously. It is very scary, but there is that comedy in it, as well. And yeah, I think it’s an entertaining film. Adam meets a lot of strange characters along the way, as he moves through the story. So yeah, I think it’ll be entertaining.

Adam Scott: Yeah, I think Damian has a really unique perspective, and really finds new nooks and crannies to scare the s–t out of you. It’s part of what makes him such a unique and really interesting, exciting filmmaker.

Hokum hits theaters on May 1!