A look at two of the scariest horror movies of the year, now available in the ultrahigh definition disc format.
Hokum (Decal Releasing, rated R, 2.39:1 aspect ratio, 107 minutes, $42.99) — Irish filmmaker Damian McCarthy’s Hollywood debut takes viewers on a trip to his ancient homelands with a supernatural horror film dripping in folklore and dread.
Starting in a desert with an exhausted conquistador and child on a mission to find a location on a withered map makes for a strange start to a movie that ends up being an inviting haunted-house creature feature.
Bear with the filmmaker; our conquistador is part of a fictional novel in the making as typed by successful but emotionally damaged author Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott).
He is now on his own journey to visit the haunted Bilberry Woods Hotel in rural Ireland for a stay and to bury his parents’ ashes on the grounds where they honeymooned.
He quickly learns from the staff that a witch was trapped in the honeymoon suite, and his curiosity may be the death of him, but his attempted suicide at the hotel leads to a darker journey.
Not surprisingly, strange happenings occur in the hotel now closed for the season, as he returns from the hospital to find a bartender missing since a Halloween party.
Mr. Bauman looks to solve the mystery and ends up trapped in the suite and dealing with a cackling ghoul and evil humans.
Mr. McCarthy, a maestro of the macabre, wraps a murder mystery within a blanket of horror, doing justice to both genres and delivering enough jumpscares in the process.
The film’s tropes are vintage to the genre, with dimly lit corridors, shadows, screams in the night, musical crescendos, spectral faces appearing in the dark and even a monochromatic stroll through the afterlife.
The 4K presentation captures the detail and depth of a stunning Irish countryside before plunging us into the suffocating confines of the hotel, replete with woodwork and ornate decor, carved cherubs looking menacing and a rickety dumbwaiter taking unsuspecting victims into a basement lined with the stench of death.
Best extras: An eloquent and intelligent optional commentary track with Mr. McCarthy leads as he discusses topics such as the origins of the film; the script rewrites; shooting scenes in the sand; injecting scares; locations (such as using a private residence in Dublin); working with child actors; budget limitations; the cast; the witch speaking in Irish; editing decisions; sound effects; and always remembering to use more fake blood.
The director concludes by saying that he hopes listeners have learned something educational from his track and get some nuggets to help in making films or just something interesting from a behind-the-scenes perspective.
Viewers then can watch a 16-minute routine production overview covering everything from the sets (shooting in Abu Dhabi and Ireland) to creating the witch. The overview includes the director, Mr. Scott and cinematographer Colm Hogan, also with words from the other main cast members, including some creepiness from Sioux C (as the witch).
Finally, fans can appreciate a 2-minute terrifying performance from the ghoulish TV children’s host Jack the Donkey, seen originally on a television screen in the film.
Obsession (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, rated R, 1.50:1 aspect ratio, 108 minutes, $32.98) — Budding director Curry Barker struck supernatural horror gold turning his spooky script and a $750,000 film budget into a nearly half-billion-dollar blockbuster.
The story chronicles the awkward Baron “Bear” Bailey’s (Michael Johnston) hardcore crush on good friend and co-worker Nikki Freeman (Inde Navarrette).
Unable to profess his feelings even when asked by Nikki, Bear buys a toy called the One Wish Willow at a New Age crystal shop.
One night, he uses the novelty and asks it to have “Nikki love him more than anyone in the world.”
Nikki starts having psychotic episodes tied to her encounters with the Bear as she shows signs of loving him at codependent levels, falling deeper but acting more erratic.
Her behavior gets violently unpredictable until Bear’s wish ultimately ends up destroying lives and the woman whom he just wanted to love.
Mr. Barker gives Ms. Navarrette a chance to really flex her acting muscles, going deeper and deeper into Nikki’s hexed psychosis in a film worthy of its horror genre.
An old-time, squarish aspect ratio presentation harkens back to vintage horror films with a turquoise-and-greenish tint and yellow indoor hue, making watching the proceedings unfurl like living in a nightmare.
While the 4K presentation is frankly unnecessary for this very subdued palette, those looking for a taste of the bloody horrific moments will find it crisp and too detailed.
Best extras: Viewers get just enough to further appreciate the horror movie, starting with Mr. Barker offering a sporadic solo optional commentary track.
He touches on reshooting the opening scene; the overall brutal challenges with directing a feature film; getting the title of the movie to practically appear in a room; his favorite scenes; casting friends and his dad; soundtrack selections; using just the slightest of tweaks to Nikki’s face to make her look more off; and letting us know that his mom designed the One Wish Willow box.
Overall, a decent track with Mr. Barker, but he could have gone much deeper into the weeds, covering more minutiae on this young director’s journey into creating his first feature film that became a wildly successful movie.
Viewers also get a 19-minute production overview featuring key cast and crew, plus plenty of time with the director touching on the origins; creating a reality-based horror film; working with the cast; improvisation on the set; storyboarding the movie in a gaming software platform; and Mr. Barker’s friendship with film actor and sketch comedy YouTube channel co-creator Cooper Tomlinson (who plays Ian).
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