Abu Dhabi-backed horror hit ‘Hokum’ brings desert chills to UAE cinemas this week

Dubai: Shot partly against the haunting backdrop of Al Ain’s Remah Desert, Hokum, the latest horror film backed by Image Nation Abu Dhabi, hopes to put the UAE on the global horror map as it hits cinemas across the region this week

The supernatural thriller, which officially releases across the UAE and the wider Middle East on May 7, opened to critical acclaim overseas and landed in top five films at the US box office category during its international rollout.

Directed by acclaimed Irish filmmaker Damian McCarthy, Hokum premiered at the South by Southwest Film & TV Festival to rave reviews and currently boasts a 97 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes.

McCarthy, known for cult horror favourites Oddity and Caveat, has become popular for creating unsettling psychological horror that relies more on tension and atmosphere than traditional jump scares.

Leading the cast is Emmy-nominated actor Adam Scott, known for Severance, Parks and Recreation and Big Little Lies. He plays an American novelist who retreats to a remote coastal hotel searching for solitude, only to uncover a terrifying mystery involving a sealed room and a sinister supernatural force.

The supporting cast includes Peter Coonan, David Wilmot, Austin Amelio and Brendan Conroy.

Produced by Image Nation Abu Dhabi in partnership with Spooky Pictures and Cweature Features, the film is part of a broader strategy by Abu Dhabi to strengthen its position in the global entertainment industry.

Over the years, Image Nation has steadily built an international portfolio while continuing to support regional filmmaking.

For Abu Dhabi’s film industry, Hokum represents more than just a horror release. It’s another sign that productions with UAE roots are increasingly finding audiences far beyond the region — and proving they can compete on the global stage.

At its core, Hokum follows Ohm, a troubled and deeply unlikeable American novelist played by Emmy-nominated actor Adam Scott, who travels to a remote hotel in rural Ireland to scatter his parents’ ashes in the one place they were once truly happy. But what begins as an emotional retreat quickly spirals into psychological terror when he encounters a dead goat in the hotel car park, an unsettling boarded-up honeymoon suite, and whispers of a centuries-old witch believed to be trapped within the property. As Ohm’s grief, loneliness and alcoholism collide with increasingly disturbing events, the film leans heavily into dark humour, eerie tension and effective jump scares. Outlets such as Guardian have rated it 3 out of 5, while many critics have hailed its narrative. Most say that Hokum delivers a terrifying confrontation of trauma that gradually descends into an unshakeable darkness.