This week on Friday Night Frightfest, we are diving into the deeply unsettling, atmosphere-soaked mind of Irish horror auteur Damian McCarthy! McCarthy has quickly become one of the most exciting voices in modern horror. We are pairing his claustrophobic feature debut Caveat (2020) with his haunting folk-horror feature Hokum (2026). Keep your lights on—things are about to get deeply unnerving.

Caveat (2020)

Written and directed by McCarthy, Caveat is a masterclass in slow-burn, spatial dread. The story follows Isaac (Jonathan French), a man struggling with memory loss who accepts a strangely specific job: house-sit for a troubled young woman in an isolated, decaying home. The catch? Unexplained security measures strictly limit where he can walk inside the house. As Isaac explores his surroundings and stumbles across a series of unsettling oddities—including a eerie, drum-playing toy rabbit—he begins to realize that his host, and the house itself, are hiding sinister secrets. It’s a lean, inventive thriller that weaponizes physical restriction to build overwhelming tension.

Hokum (2026)

Stepping into a broader setting while keeping that signature eerie atmosphere, McCarthy’s Hokum shifts the terror to a quiet Irish countryside steeped in local legend. The film follows a skeptical American investigator (Adam Scott) who travels to a remote village to look into longstanding regional superstitions and dark local lore. What begins as an effort to separate fact from fiction quickly spirals as the town’s unsettling atmosphere closes in on him. Atmospheric, paranoid, and layered with quiet dread, Hokum explores how thin the line really is between harmless myth and genuine terror.

Join us as we break down Damian McCarthy’s distinct brand of storytelling!

Spoilers start around 5:50.