The Huckleberries Vol. 18 - Hokum & Over Your Dead Body

     Obviously we want to have an area for reviewing new films here at The Film Encomium, but we want to send a message with our methodology. That message is a simple one: Don’t forget about the fun. 

Yes, film can be transformative, prophetic, and groundbreaking. It can also be none of those things and still be a damn good time, and we want to validate both of those experiences. If you want to see creations that are both mythical and mesmerizing, we recommend the work of Nora Twomey; but if you want to become well-rounded, you should take a lesson in deadpan humor in serious situations from Bent Hamer. 

It is from the balance of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn that we draw inspiration for the title of this section. Tom is clever; Tom is great. If there were one of those boys we were going to try to get into Harvard, it would be young Mr. Sawyer…but he will always need his Huckleberry. 

We all need our Huckleberries. Art needs its Huckleberries. Sometimes beauty is in the little things and reasoned reflection. Other times beauty is loud, bright, and bold. In the interest of providing our readers with a comprehensive experience, we are not willing to skip The Huckleberries. 

So, with that in mind, here are two exceptional flicks that dropped in theaters recently. The first will have you frantically searching for the safety of reality. The second will remind you that reality is usually just a series of bad decisions getting out of hand anyway. Enjoy!

Hokum -

Damian McCarthy has been one of the rising stars of Irish horror for several years now. After making the leap from short film to features with his 2020 debut Caveat, he came back with one of the absolute darlings amongst the horror community in recent years with 2024’s Oddity. It should be welcome news to those same aficionados that he has honed his talents and come back operating at an even higher level with his newest creation, Hokum.

One of the assets at McCarthy’s disposal for this production was a dose of star power in the form of Adam Scott. Not that he hasn’t worked with other incredibly talented performers in the past, but none of them touch the sort of international familiarity that accompanies someone like Scott. The man supplies much more than a famous name to this production, however; this is the finest acting work we have seen out of him, at least in a feature-length production. 

The storyline draws an important and notable line early on, and that is to separate the character of Ohm Bauman from some of the other iterations of Adam Scott we have seen throughout his career. His base persona as a thespian is a bit wry and almost condescending, but in a way that somehow seems to be originating from a place of warmth and kindness. It’s a signature tonality that has served his career incredibly well, and made him a bit of a national treasure. 

Ohm is not that character. He is a real dickhead, and they make sure to strip away any preconceptions to the contrary within the first ten minutes of the movie. The plot intentionally surrounds him with unpleasant caricatures of strangers, and he is still the constant curmudgeon. Stripping the lead actor of his inherent likability sets Hokum off on a path that feels less steady with each passing step, and that is a massive strength for this film as it attempts to cast its spell upon the audience. 

Every member of the supporting cast adds a unique aura of uneasiness along with them, and the uncertainty of who or what to put faith in helps to concoct a noir-style feel to proceedings. Joseph Bishara scores proceedings in an adaptive and intuitive fashion, providing an atmosphere that is wholly original. Opinions will vary on whether this film is great or merely good, but count us squarely in the camp that views this as an instant classic. 

Oh, and if you happen to be the type of person who enjoys psychedelic mushrooms, it is a Classic+.    

Over Your Dead Body -

This is a fantastic adaptation of Tommy Wirkola’s 2021 Norwegian film The Trip (I onde danger), and that is likely to have an impact on the reception it gets from American audiences. It is a highly faithful recreation of the original, sometimes to the point of being a near shot-for-shot remake. Due to that fact, a fair amount of humor and pacing may come off as choppy or offbeat, at least for viewers who do not regularly consume Scandinavian content.

As a concept, this is a creative and original path to take a story on, and it is exciting that they decided to repurpose it with Hollywood faces without diluting the incomparable charm that drew them to the primary cut. There is no wasted space in the plot, with every dynamic or decision influencing the final product via consequences that range from obvious to totally unforeseeable. The most important element of the process is slowly pulling back the curtain for the audience, and director Jorma Taccone manages to flawlessly mirror Wirkola’s original effort in this regard.

Jason Segel and Samara Weaving have incredible chemistry as the focal couple, and they individually turn in powerhouse performances that are helped along by a script that asks an awful lot of them. Great creative talents who have to act like struggling creative talents as they are confronted with not only a full spectrum of emotions but also a wide variety of reasons to disguise those emotions. It’s an absolute treat to behold.

 When you take a step back and look at what has been accomplished here, it is everything you want to see in an adapted piece. They approached this iteration with the intention to keep the spirit of the work which inspired it intact, and they are highly successful at that endeavor. The small changes they made all serve the process of translation, and the end result is equal parts charming and harrowing. 

We highly recommend watching both versions of the film because, as much as anything else, this is a masterclass in converting foreign film.

~The Film Encomium~