Horror Film ‘HOKUM’ to Release Across UAE & MENA on May 7th

In Al Ain’s Remah Desert, a film crew built a sliver of dread into the dunes for a story set far from the sand. 'HOKUM', a supernatural horror, opens in cinemas across the UAE and the wider MENA region on May 7th, 2026.
Directed by Damian McCarthy, ‘HOKUM’ premiered at the South by Southwest Film & TV Festival and holds a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. McCarthy is known for previous works including ‘Oddity’ and ‘Caveat’.
The film stars Adam Scott alongside Peter Coonan, David Wilmot, Florence Ordesh, Michael Patric, Will O’Connell, Brendan Conroy, and Austin Amelio. The story follows an American novelist who retreats to a remote coastal hotel and becomes entangled in a mystery involving a sealed room and an unexplained force.
While set internationally, key scenes were filmed in the Remah Desert in Al Ain, with production supported by the Abu Dhabi Film Commission, part of the Creative Media Authority. The film was produced by Roy Lee, Steven Schneider, Derek Dauchy, Ruth Treacy, Julianne Forde, and Mairtín de Barra, with executive producers including Ben Ross and Rami Yasin. Co-production funding was supported by Screen Ireland, with Tailored Films also participating.
Regional distribution is being handled by Front Row Filmed Entertainment, which acquired rights from NEON after the film ranked among the top five at the US box office earlier this month.
Produced by Image Nation Abu Dhabi in partnership with Spooky Pictures and Cweature Features, the film forms part of the studio’s expanding slate of internationally recognised genre projects.
‘HOKUM’ continues ongoing collaborations between Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Spooky Pictures, following projects such as ‘Watcher’, ‘The Plague’, and ‘Late Night with the Devil’.