Him is an ambitious attempt to carve out a new sub-genre of “sports horror” or (getting even more specific) “psychological sports horror.” That terminology alone should tell you that the subject matter and creative approach to Justin Tipping’s film will have niche appeal, and unfortunately, the filmmaker doesn’t do much to make it all that accessible to those it even appeals to. Him is a classic case of style-over-substance imbalance robbing a film of its potential, despite some electric performances from its central leads.
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The story of Him follows Cameron “Cam” Cade (Tyriq Withers), a hot young prospective quarterback drafted into the NFL. But before Cam can take his rightful place as the next football GOAT, he must receive the torch of glory from his idol, all-time great QB and team captain Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans). Cam agrees to attend a private camp that Isaiah is hosting at his state-of-the-art and reclusive desert compound. When the young hotshot gets there, he gradually learns that Isaiah expects cult-like devotion to the camp, the team, the sport, and the entire lifestyle that comes with it. Cam thinks he’s dedicated enough, at first; he thinks he owes it to family, friends, and fans to rise to the greatness expected of him. However, the closer Cam gets to the inner circles of sports glory and fame, the more he learns that the cost of being the GOAT will be his body, his mind, and maybe even his soul.
Rating: 2/5
| PROS | CONS |
| The visuals are very strong | Story-telling is disjointed |
| Marlon Wayans shines | Weak script fails to deliver on believability |
| Style over substance |
Justin Tipping’s previous feature film was the movie Kicks (2016), which used a pair of sneakers (and the mythology and conflict over them) as a way to reflect class and culture within the framework of a slightly surrealist urban adventure film. Him (which was produced by Jordan Peele) follows much of the same creative patterning, swapping out the adventure film staples for horror genre tropes, and cranking the surrealist style up to “11.” This sports-horror parable plays like a series of vignettes loosely strung together by the bare bones plot of Cam attending Isiah’s camp.
Sequence after sequence showcases Cam experiencing something so odd, violent, or off-putting while at the compound that it’s often hard to believe the logic of the film’s story arc and its characters. It’s hard to believe anyone would spend more than an hour with Isaiah and his crew at all, but Tipping and cinematographer Kira Kelley at least give us enough visual splendor to convince the eye to keep watching.
Then again, the script by Skip Bronkie, Zack Akers, and Tipping never manages to make things “real” enough for Isaiah’s character and his world to be taken believably. From the moment Cam sets foot in the compound, Him feels like the fever dream a pro athlete might have the night before training camp. Taken that way, Tipping’s cinematic ambitions are admirable enough – and to some viewers, Him may indeed be ‘high art’ commentary on modern sports culture, and the deeper subtexts of race, class, and capitalism that run through it.
Yet, so much of it feels heavy-handed and overly self-important (rather than insightful) that it comes off as unintentionally funny, if not ridiculous. That’s especially true of the film’s finale, which is so over-the-top bonkers, both narratively and visually, that it arguably makes the entire movie jump the shark.
The only thing that holds Him together, at all, is the compelling central performances from Tyriq Withers and (especially) Marlon Wayans. Wayans (the more veteran performer) is a highly compelling antagonist as Isaiah, masterfully teetering the line between charisma and mania, often within the same scene or a dialogue exchange. Withers does well enough as the doe-eyed babyface caught up in the demonic web of celebrity, although some of Cam’s reactions are almost laughably muted or detached, given the situations he finds himself in.
By the time Withers does get to cut loose and chew scenery, it’s a pretty jarring switch-flip. Look no further for proof of Him being lost in a haze of its own styling than the casting of social media influencer Julia Fox (Uncut Gems), as “Elsie,” Isaiah’s wife, and… a social media influencer. Certain sequences of the film featuring Elsie feel like they were shot for Fox’s social pages as much as for a feature film. It’s wild stuff.
In a year where horror is putting up some big, bold, and historic wins, Him feels like a deep zone pass that simply wasn’t completed, and certainly didn’t result in a touchdown.
Him is now playing in theaters. It has a runtime of 1 hour and 36 minutes and is rated R for “strong bloody violence, language throughout, sexual material, nudity, and some drug use.”
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image courtesy of 20th Century Studios
