Written by Sam Clark
Certificate: 18
Running time: 96 minutes
Director: Justin Tipping
Of all the genres to get the horror treatment (action, comedy, science fiction and even romantic comedies), sports has always been the category that seems to have been given the least attention. Despite it's overall flaws, Him proves that it can be done and this genre is a good enough template to have some fun with and does offer something different for Halloween.
This comes to us from producer Jordan Peele who has made such a mark in the horror genre that he now serves as producer that the marketing uses his name to get your attention; that's when you know you've made it. This is co-written and directed by Justin Tipping, and also co-written by Zack Ackers and Skip Bronkie. Tyriq Withers, who we have just seen recently in I Know What You Did Last Summer, is Cameron Cade, a rising star quarterback whose live solely revolves around football and nothing else. Before the NFL combine (the process in which players are scouted by teams), he is attacked by a fan who bludgeons him over the head, sustaining a serious brain injury that could end his career dead in the tracks. So, not only does he suffer an injury at the worst possible time, the film makes it deliberately so that said injury is the worst a player can possibly suffer, which the film of course does on purpose.
Image credit: IMDb/Parrish Lewis/Universal Pictures
His future suddenly lies in danger. Cam is given the chance to go and train at the compound of his football idol, eight time championship winner Isiah White (Marlon Wayans), labelled by everyone around the world as the ''goat'' (greatest of all time). He travels to his training compound which is, literally, in the middle of a desert. En-route, he sees crazed fans waiting for him as he is told that Isiah's followers are not followers and more like a cult (a perfect line of a dialogue that is just an indication of what is to come). If these two glaringly obvious red flags don't stick out to him (but do to us as the audience), other things soon will. Things seem relatively normal to him at the start, but the training soon becomes more and more extreme, namely other athletes who voluntarily get footballs blasted at their skulls to show their commitment and dedication to Isiah.
Cam must push his way through not only the physical demands but also psychological manipulation and soon hallucinations as his discovers what's truly going on here. If I were to lay my cards on the table, I believe the negative critical reception towards Him is somewhat harsh, but that still doesn't prevent the film from being all style and no substance. Peele serving as producer makes sense, not only as he has now become a household horror name, but also because Him looks like the exact kind of horror he'd typically do. Unfortunately, this just comes across like a glorified music video. I could already tell from the trailers, but almost everything about this reminded me of the aesthetic and stylistic choices you come to expect from a Nicolas Winding Refn film (one of the most individualistic directors in Hollywood - you certainly know one of his films when you see it).
Image credit: IMDb/Parrish Lewis/Universal Pictures
There is a lot of walking around and sitting around quiet, still and dark rooms whilst the lights dim or the only colours consist of subtle ambience. His style of work is typically very hard to get emotionally and mentally. Him thankfully is not, but the two's similarities are noticeable and comparable. What's different here is that Him does take the horror approach in which you see something beginning to happen during one of these moments that does cause you do hold your breath. One particular set piece takes place in an enclosed room whilst something slowly but alarmingly begins to play out which I thought was admirably crafted. Despite being a sports based horror, elements of body horror (which has been making a great comeback in cinema with 2024's The Substance and Together earlier this year) are also once again brought back to our screens.
Him is all about the idea of perfecting yourself physically and pushing your body as hard as you can, which the film explores well through it's imagery. The film has an 18 certificate for strong bloody violence and injury detail, and when you have a sports horror film with that, boy can you have some fun. This is all done through squirmy, sweaty, and scrungy detail, everything ranging from the fact that Cam spends more than half the film virtually shirtless to shots of him working out, undergoing physical exams and so on. Tyriq Withers and Marlon Wayans are pretty good in this and work well together. As it is a story of a teacher pushing the student to their limit, it did call to mind JK Simmons and Miles Teller in Whiplash, although nothing will ever be able to come close to that level of manic intensity.
Image credit: IMDb/Parrish Lewis/Universal Pictures
The crazier it all gets, the more I was thinking of how it could possibly end and just how off the wall bonkers it could possibly go. Well, my prayers were answered as the film delivered just that in the most memorable fashion it possibly could, enjoying that 18 to the absolute max - but not in a good way. Sometimes, I am a sucker for completely ridiculous endings, only when executed correctly or warranted. Yes, it was justified in the manner of the whole film being crazy enough to get away with an ending like this, but it just didn't work as well as it thinks it does, which just summed everything up. The spooky season is off to a rough start.
Him is in cinemas now
