Hokum

Neon

We are a third of the way through 2026 at this point, and we’re already starting to see a number of high-quality horror movies released. Now, a new one is out this weekend, and it’s got the best Rotten Tomatoes score of them all so far. Just by a hair, at least.

That would be Hokum, currently with 94% Rotten Tomatoes score, a new horror film that is out this Friday, May 1. Here’s the synopsis:

“When novelist Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott) retreats to a remote inn to scatter his parents' ashes, he is consumed by tales of a witch haunting the honeymoon suite. Disturbing visions and a shocking disappearance forces him to confront dark corners of his past.”

That is, of course, Adam Scott of Parks and Recreation and now Severance fame. I suppose you could consider Severance a horror series at times, but now he’s fully in the genre with this movie. I believe he may be one of the only names you’d recognize in the cast, but I also know Austin Amelio from The Walking Dead.

Hokum is written and directed by Damian McCarthy, who was behind 2024’s Oddity, which was the second-highest-scoring horror movie of that year, with a 96%, just shy of Late Night with the Devil’s 97%. No audience scores in on Hokum yet, but it should not be a great surprise that his follow-up is doing this well.

What are the scores for the rest of the big horror films of 2026 so far? Here’s the list, along with a brief take from me:

• Send Help – 93% - Deserves the praise with an all-timer performance with Rachel McAdams.
• 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple – 92% - Better than the first installment and the best in the series outside of the original
• We Bury the Dead – 88% - Unfortunately, rather forgettable, and I agree more with the 46% audience score.
• Primate – 78% - I did not watch the monkey horror film, but apparently it was okay.
• Undertone – 74% - I literally fell asleep during this sound-based horror film.
• Forbidden Fruits – 74% - Stars some of the biggest young actresses today, Lili Reinhart, Lola Tung, Victoria Pedretti and Alexandra Shipp, but it only just came to streaming, so I haven’t watched it yet. I may wait until it’s not $20 to rent.
• Ready or Not 2: Here I Come – 73% - Have not seen it yet, but it’s high on my list as I loved the first one. It also features Pitt star Shawn Hatosy as a villain.

But yes, Hokum. Even if scores fluctuate, it will stay one of the top entries of the year, no doubt. For that reason, I’m heading to theaters rather than waiting for streaming.

Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.

Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.