The new horror by Damian McCarthy, in Italian cinemas from August 5 2026, is a story that compels one to confront the past and the ghosts of family history. To the tension of a narrative that certainly does not lack suspense, the choice of dark and enigmatic settings adds an extra edge: let us explore together the locations of Hokum.
What is it about
The film’s protagonist, played by Adam Scott, is a horror writer. Years after his parents’ death, despite the personal hardship he is going through, he decides to go scatter their ashes in Ireland near a sequoia that appears in a family photo from long ago. To do this, he books an inn, in the same suite where his parents had spent their honeymoon many years before.
Only once arriving does he realize he is the sole guest of the establishment and he learns dark stories concerning him, such as that of an old witch who would reside in the suite itself. Naturally, inexplicable and terrifying phenomena do not take long to manifest.
Where Hokum Was Filmed
In choosing Hokum’s locations the Irish director played at home, shooting the horror almost entirely in West Cork. The opening and closing scenes, however, were filmed in the United Arab Emirates.
The Al Ain Desert
Thanks to the support of the Abu Dhabi Film Commission and the Creative Media Authority Abu Dhabi, it was possible to build a set and shoot within the Al Ain Desert. This expanse of sand and dunes about half an hour from Abu Dhabi is famous for an oasis with over 147,000 date palms crossed by traditional falaj (water channels), long recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site, and for an archaeological park (the Jebel Hafit Desert Park) where honeycomb tomb remains dating back more than five thousand years can be found.
The West Cork
Turning to the places where Hokum was filmed in Ireland, the choice of Western Cork does not appear casual: it is one of the wildest and, in some ways, still rural regions of the country, with a landscape characterized by deserted beaches and barren expanses interspersed with small isolated villages that aptly convey the sense of mystery and unease that dominates the film.
Some of the key scenes of the horror were shot, for example, near the Caha Pass: a mountainous pass that, for nearly thirty kilometers and at an altitude of over three hundred meters, carves the crest of the eponymous range. Its peculiarity, besides the unrivaled views of the mountains and the Bantry Bay in the distance, is that it was entirely hand-dug.
Another Hokum location is the Castlefreke Forest: a green area with a view of what remains of the old castle of the same name, beloved by families and hikers who come to immerse themselves in nature and, a bit like what happens to the film’s protagonist, to take a pause from reality.
For interior scenes, Damian McCarthy relied on the Liss Ard Estate: a historic property – today rentable for private events or holidays – with luxurious interiors, several acres of surrounding land, a private lake, and the garden where the artist James Turrel used to come to paint, available to guests.
Bantry House, too, a historic residence overlooking the bay of the same name and famous for its several hectares of Italianate gardens, ranks among Ireland’s most “unconventional” locations where the film was shot: the aim was to produce sumptuous and timeless shots that would give universality to the mysterious events experienced by the film’s writer-protagonist.
