Chapter 34
THE SPRINKLER Chapter Thirty-Four
6.1.2026
Editor – Mykal - Content – Technical - Layout
Research & Editor – Mike - Content - Layout
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Chapter 34
Chapter 34
A Monthly Film-First Dispatch
Psycho Studios (Phoenix)
Film Image of the Month
We wrap up our Universal Studio’s Monster’s tribute, who knew?
Released in 1954, Creature from the Black Lagoon is known as the last of the Mount Rushmore of Universal’s Monsters. Interesting story, great underwater footage for its time! Really good cast. The music! Let’s not forget the creature! Oddly, this film has never been remade, although there have been attempts. This film could be remade really cool, rated R, darker with great practical effects. We can only hope!
EDITOR’S NOTE
We are embarking on a new layout and content for our newsletter The Sprinkler. Mykal was instrumental with editing our previous format which had too many irons in the fire. This chapter and moving forward will include:
Film: New release review, and our Psycho Scale.
From the Vault: Films from the 1930s through the 1980s. Simply a watch suggestion.
VHS Corner: One film suggested, do you own a VCR?
Music: This is about music that is directly linked to a film or films. One soundtrack suggested.
Spotlight: Sometimes we honor those film & music greats from days gone by.
**We use the Psycho Scale when reviewing movies with a score, it is 0-Psycho (10) and these scores are real and true.
FILM
New Release
Hokum – 2026 Rated R – runtime 1h 47m
By the Numbers:
Budget - $5 million – Box Office $23 million
There is no denying that Hokum wants desperately to be one of those elevated folk horror films people talk about on Reddit threads and YouTube stories for the next five years. It has the atmosphere. It has the moody Irish setting. It has shadows, folklore, ghosts, witches, grief, trauma, and long quiet hallways that practically beg you to call the movie haunting. Unfortunately, for me, Hokum never evolves beyond a well-shot exercise in awkward pacing and tonal confusion. I love Adam Scott, and is he good in it? Of course. That doesn’t save this trite, boring and obvious horror movie.
Directed by Damian McCarthy and starring Adam Scott, the film follows a horror writer traveling to a remote Irish hotel to spread his parents’ ashes, only to become wrapped up in supernatural folklore involving a witch and a supposedly cursed honeymoon suite. And to call him a horror writer is a stretch. The real horror is this shit-show of a movie!
I dig Adam Scott as previously stated. Always have. He brings an everyman quality even when playing damaged or cynical characters. Here, he does what he can with the material. His performance is easily the strongest thing in the film. There are moments where you can feel him trying to anchor the story emotionally while the movie around him drifts into strange tonal territory. One scene feels like psychological grief horror, the next feels almost darkly comedic, and then suddenly the film pivots into ghost story folklore with little rhythm connecting the pieces.
That uneven rhythm becomes the film’s biggest problem. Along with the goddamn accents.
Hokum moves at a crawl for stretches, then rushes through reveals that probably should have carried more weight. The movie keeps teasing dread without consistently delivering it. Some viewers and critics praised the atmosphere and jump scares, while others noted the lack of originality and narrative depth. For me, the issue was simpler: I never fully cared. The mystery unfolds in fragments, but the emotional hook never landed hard enough to justify the slow burn. And jump scares? I had better jump scares in a grocery store! Goddamn!
Visually, the movie absolutely has moments. The hotel itself is creepy in an old-world gothic kind of way. The dim corridors, isolated woods, and candlelit interiors give the film a cold, damp atmosphere that works. McCarthy clearly knows how to frame unsettling imagery. There are a handful of effective sequences involving the witch mythology and the hotel’s hidden spaces that almost pull the movie together. Almost. Not!But atmosphere alone can only carry a horror film so far. Eventually it’s a who gives a fuck about the visual elements if there is no substance.
The witch mythology feels underdeveloped, the ghost elements become repetitive, and the film eventually leans so heavily into metaphor and trauma that the actual horror starts losing impact. By the final act, Hokum felt less frightening and more exhausting. The film keeps layering symbolism on top of symbolism until it becomes emotionally distant instead of unnerving. It bored my ass to tears.
There is also a weird tonal disconnect throughout the movie that I could never shake. Certain characters behave like they wandered in from a completely different film. Some scenes play deadly serious while others flirt with dark humor in ways that undercut the tension. That balancing act can work in horror when handled carefully. Here, it mostly feels awkward. And the continuity is bullshit.
I understand why some horror fans are connecting with it. If you enjoy slow atmospheric folk horror with heavy grief themes and abstract supernatural storytelling, there is probably something here for you. Critics largely praised the film’s atmosphere, Adam Scott’s performance, and McCarthy’s direction. But for me, Hokum mistakes mood for momentum. Scott’s performance is the only positive! (And I really don’t understand how anyone connects with this shit, to each his & her own.)
At the end of the day, I respect the film making more than I enjoyed the actual experience.
Adam Scott deserved a tighter script. The setting deserved a scarier movie. And Hokum ultimately joins the growing pile of modern horror films that are technically impressive but emotionally hollow. It’s funny, I do KNOW film, love movies and crave for great horror films! This also gets thrown on a pile of horror movies that makes money, and falls short. Fuck it. I will keep searching for those horror gems like The Descent. The Monkey. Wolf Creek. Hostel and the like!
Not my cup of tea. Hell, not my cup of anything! It’s clearly no London Fog!
Psycho Scale: 2 out of 10.
Stick with The Monkey!
Adam Scott Details:
A few of the most notable film roles from Adam Scott over the years:
Step Brothers — Derek Huff
A timeless classic that Scott’s character drives to insane comic timing
Krampus — Tom Engel
A horror-comedy Christmas film that’s become a cult favorite. One of his stronger genre performances.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty — Ted Hendricks
Plays the passive-aggressive corporate boss tormenting Walter Mitty.
The Aviator — Johnny Meyer
Small but memorable supporting role in Martin Scorsese’s Howard Hughes biopic.
Knocked Up — Samuel
One of the more grounded supporting characters in the Apatow universe.
The Matador — Phil Garrison
Dark comedy/thriller with Pierce Brosnan. Scott fits naturally into that dry awkward tone.
Piranha 3D — Novak Radzinsky
Full ridiculous B-movie energy.
Black Mass — FBI Agent Robert Fitzpatrick
Supporting role in the Johnny Depp gangster film.
Madame Web — Ben Parker
Small Marvel-connected role tied to Spider-Man lore.
Hokum — Ohm Bauman
Atmospheric folk-horror/ghost story set in Ireland.
He’s one of those actors who elevates supporting roles because he naturally incorporates those actors around him.
FROM THE VAULT (1930s–1980s)
The Fury 1978 Rated R – runtime 1h 58m
The Fury was such a mind-blowing watch the first time. Directed by one of my favorites; Brian DePalma and starring Kirk Douglas the movie surprises on many levels. Great cast, cinematography, musical score & story! An underrated 70’s horror film! Gory! 70’s vibe!
VHS CORNER (Available only on videotape)
Blood Beach 1980 Rated R – runtime 1h 32m
I did not see this film until about a decade after its release. The movie is as insane as it sounds, the sand kills you! A must watch for 1980’s horror fans, with an unusual take on the creature feature genre! Bring your pail and shovel!
MUSIC (That collides with film)
The Crow 1994 – 14 tracks – Runtime 1h 3m
This month’s soundtrack recommendation is 1994’s The Crow. 14 tracks on this incredible album drive this film’s dark and foreboding tone! RIP Brandon Lee. STP’s song is so haunting and perfect given the history of the making of the film.
Peter Cushing 1913-1994
Psycho Studio’s Spotlight. A legendary actor, who made Hammer Films! Get this, he was born on the same date that Bram Stoker’s Dracula was released!
CLOSING THOUGHT
We refrain from speaking to politics, religion and the strife across the globe. Film has been an incredible connection and enthusiastic distraction, hobby and life pursuit. 2026 is Psycho Studio’s year, and we look forward to sharing thoughts, experiences and the like. We will pull the curtain back and review our progress, our amazing intellectual property (IP) as well as the special journey we are on. We wish everyone a safe and happy summer.
END
Mykal and I shared this credo with one another a couple years ago; it was poignant then & surely is today!
Be cool to one another
Please subscribe to our newsletter; back issues available with some great content!
We have thoroughly enjoyed writing this newsletter each month for almost three years! We will continue with our unique voice in a sea of sameness and will do so through 2026 with a newly streamlined format. Less is more!
Mykal and I wish everyone a positive June! Be safe and stay psycho! We would love to hear from our audience. Comments, feedback and suggestions are welcome!
Email us at - psychostudios66@gmail.com
Reach us at our website: www.psycho-studio.com
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The Sprinkler is dropped on the first of each month.
Mike & Mykal - Psycho Studios Phoenix – 6.1.2026
Thank you, Psychos! Chapter 34