‘Him’ Is Filled With Great, Creepy Ideas, But Never Quite Brings It All Home

Usually, there are sports movies and there are horror movies, and the two don’t really cross over. In Friday the 13th, Jason Voorhees wears a hockey mask, but he doesn’t take a slap shot. A killer might swing a baseball bat, but they aren’t stepping up to the plate. Him, the new film from Justin Tipping, is one of the first, and maybe biggest, films to ever blend horror and sports, which, just for that, is worth being excited about. The film uses the violence of football, as well as the hero worship, drug use, aggression, obsessions, and cold, hard cash at its core, to tell a multifaceted tale with lots of intensity and unease. Whether or not all of those ideas come together in a satisfying way is another story.

Him stars Tyriq Withers as Cameron Cade, a star college quarterback with an eye on being drafted into the pros. His favorite team is the Saviors, whose quarterback, Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans), has won eight championships. He’s the greatest of all time. The GOAT. And when Cameron is mysteriously and violently attacked, Isaiah invites him to his compound to train and ready himself for the draft.

Some of Him‘s problems start right there. While Tipping does a very good job of bringing his audience into this world and introducing all its characters, the inciting incident is so out of left field and largely forgotten about for the majority of the film that there’s an initial sense that not all of this was as thought-out as it could’ve been. It’s a feeling that permeates the entire film.

Thankfully, another feeling that permeates the entire film is dread. As Cameron arrives at Isaiah’s home, everything instantly feels wrong. Isaiah’s got worshipers camped outside the gates. He has yes-men who’ll do whatever he says. There are monuments to his greatness everywhere, all of which clash against his seemingly down-to-earth personality. He also, creepily, employs a doctor to give him blood when he’s not feeling great and his training methods are more than a little intense. But Cameron, like the audience, goes with it.

Wayans is a revelation as Isaiah. He’s got all the confident swagger you’d expect from the pro sports legend, and just the right amount of evil boiling below the surface. As he and Cameron train and bond, we’re on the edge of our seats, begging to learn more about what the hell is going on here, especially as things get darker and weirder.

Unfortunately, every time things get darker and weirder, Him finds a way to dial things way back. Cameron wakes up, works out, and parties, and yes, all of that is peppered with weird, potentially culty stuff, but it never feels like it’s the point. More than anything, most of the tension in the film comes from the film’s exploration of sports in general.

Big chunks of Him are dedicated to Isaiah talking about everything he had to give up to become the best of all time. Cameron has to struggle with whether he’s ready to do the same. We spend time with some of Isaiah’s obsessive fans and their agent (played with perfectly muted comedic relief by Tim Heidecker) and listen as they wax poetic about the glory of victory and the agony of defeat. As much as we think Him is going to be exclusively about weird, culty horror stuff, it’s surprisingly, and almost disappointingly, tangential. More than anything, the film is about the horrors that fame and fortune can bring and what it takes to achieve them.

Thankfully, all of that leads to a wild third act where everything comes together in a fantastic, gory, and wholly satisfying way. You just wish that pace and excitement were more evenly seeded throughout the film. As it plays here, it all happens so fast and without warning that you can’t help but feel like there’s more to the story. But, once the credits roll, Him leaves you with a lot to talk about, both in terms of the narrative and the themes. You just can’t help but feel like it’s all a bit too much and way out of balance.

In the end, Withers gives a star-making performance as Cameron, more than holding his own against the equally excellent Wayans. As a result, Him is more interesting than not. It’s just not quite as entertaining and engaging as it aims to be.

Him opens Friday, September 19.

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