Him (2025)

​“Him” stars Marlon Wayans, Tyriq Withers, Julia Fox, Tim Heidecker, and Jim Jefferies.  Released on September 19, 2025, the film has a rookie football player training with a legendary quarterback.

The film is directed by Justin Tipping, who also directed “Kicks” and co-produced “Lowriders”.  He’s also known for directing television shows such as “The Chi”, “Flatbush Misdemeanors”, and “Jon vs. Carole”.  People constantly seek to attain greatness, especially in the realm of sports, where they demonstrate their skills before thousands of people.  Some athletes reach this level through hard work, determination, and a nutritious diet, proving that with enough dedication, anyone can become a sensation.  On the other hand, some are willing to engage in perilous and reckless behavior to be recognized as the best, sometimes at the cost of their sanity.  Good thing I didn’t stick with my sports path while following my film-related career.  The month of September continues to bring out the cinematic frights this year with Jordan Peele’s latest horror film, which immerses audiences in the eerily psychological world of football.  However, despite Peele’s involvement, he only served as one of the film’s producers, with Justin Tipping taking over the director’s chair.  Regardless, Peele’s name in the credits is enough to immediately draw attention, particularly given his impressive track record for the genre.  Does the film achieve the greatness needed to score some spine-chilling touchdowns, or does it deserve a penalty for unnecessary cinematic roughness?  Let’s take our skills to the field and find out.

The story centers on Cameron “Cam” Cade (Withers), an aspiring football player motivated by his idol, Isaiah White (Wayans), a renowned quarterback for the San Antonio Saviors, to pursue his career.  However, an unexpected attack from an obsessed fan threatens to cut Cameron’s career short before it even begins.  One fateful day, Isaiah offers Cameron an opportunity to train at his private compound, aiming to guide him toward achieving greatness.  This feels like a dream come true for Cameron, but he soon uncovers something sinister lurking within Isaiah’s secluded retreat.  The trials Cameron endured have grown increasingly savage with each passing moment, showcasing Isaiah’s unhealthy fixation on perfection.  This places the rookie player in a high-stakes situation where he must navigate the trials and confront the true price of greatness.

I couldn’t help but recognize Jordan Peele’s unexpected transition from comedy to horror.  Whether he’s directing, writing, producing, or all the above, Peele’s refreshing talent for the genre, paired with insightful social commentary, has established him as a filmmaker who has rejuvenated horror for the better.  His role as a producer in “Him” has already piqued my interest in the film, which marks another attempt by Hollywood to make our beloved sports more frightening than a career-ending injury.  There hasn’t been a significant number of sports horror movies lately.  Trust me, I've checked, and there have been a few instances involving surfing and various high school sports, but not for professional football.  Hence, “Him” aims to breathe life into this rare subgenre amidst a sea of second-rate supernatural horror and creature features.  Although I haven’t played much football and likely won’t, I do catch the Packer game now and then, which gives me enough insight to fully grasp the sport behind the scenes.  

But the true test is whether the film could evoke genuine terror in that experience to become the GOAT in cinema.  From the outset, I was thankful for my decision not to pursue a football career, as I would not have been able to survive the rigorous training depicted.  But I must admit that Isaiah’s training compound looked pretty cool, both inside and out.  I could definitely see the potential it provided, not just in its craftsmanship but also in its exploration of relatable themes that resonate with many athletes.  However, in terms of execution, the film surprisingly fumbled more often than it scored.  It delivered on the promise of being a creepy-as-hell and hallucinatory experience reminiscent of psychological horror films and Peele’s previous horror works.  But without an impactful story and memorable frights to back them up, it felt like “Him” was only providing these flashy and discomforting visuals for show instead of balancing them with its narrative skills.  As a whole, “Him” demonstrated that it has the guts, but not enough glory to score some points in the horror genre.

The concept of “Him” is basically about the journey of becoming the greatest of all time, or GOAT for short.  There are plenty of undeniable benefits to being the best, such as miraculous skills and sheer determination.  However, it also isn’t without the significant consequences one must face along their path, notably when confronted with a life-threatening injury.  The movie offers a disturbingly insightful examination of the pursuit of greatness and the sacrifices it demands, prompting audiences to question whether it is truly worth it.  Through Cameron’s head injury and the film’s unsettling imagery, it had the potential to serve as a bold, cautionary tale about the psychological obsession with perfection amidst the dangers of competitive sports, particularly football.  Unfortunately, its screenplay, penned by Justin Tipping along with Skip Bronkie and Zack Akers, was penalized for not fully capitalizing on its narrative ideas.  Although there were attempts to reflect its themes in an uneasy and sentimental way, they were overshadowed by its thinly executed allegories and characters that felt more like showy mascots than resilient football players.  As for the ending, it’s undoubtedly a bloodbath, but it was also pretty phoned in compared to the first two acts.  You’ll know what I’m talking about if you saw the movie already.  

While the script threw more incomplete passes than completed ones, “Him” captured an essence that could’ve been from Jordan Peele’s fingerprints, evident in its cinematography and authentic terror of the human condition.  But, as mentioned earlier, Peele served only as a producer.  Instead, the directing reigns belonged to Justin Tipping, who started his directorial career with his successful feature film debut, “Kicks”.  I hadn’t watched any of his works before “Him”, but his track record in television suggested potential for him to provide something interesting for the horror genre.  Tipping did a suitable job utilizing Kira Kelly’s cinematography to convey the bleak neon palettes and wide-angle scope of the film’s unnerving set designs and atmospheric dread.  The visuals were also a nice touch in portraying hallucinatory images, especially the X-ray effects for the characters’ insides and skeletons.  By the way, if you’re squeamish about graphic depictions of flesh and bone, you might want to choose a different hobby to partake in. 

Conversely, it also felt like Tipping was copying off Peele’s playbook most of the time without much of a distinctively terrifying flair to complement its eerie atmosphere.  It attempted to deliver psychological scares through character actions and hallucinations rather than relying on clichéd jump scares like most horror movies.  While a couple of them were mildly frightening, they didn’t leave me with a chill in my bones as I had hoped, providing a haunted house-like experience that’s as exhausting as performing four sets of intense exercises.  Justin Tipping certainly got the "unsettling atmosphere" part down, but he definitely needs more training to weave effective scares into his nightmare-inducing world of football.  I also had mixed feelings towards the editing by Taylor Joy Mason.  Most of the time, it works in creating some unnerving imagery through its hallucinations, close-up shots, and fidgety effects.  However, it also comes with the cost of the film’s build-ups towards those discomforting scenes feeling a bit disjointed and flat, diminishing the impact of its frights.  As someone who hasn’t watched Tipping’s previous works, I’ll admit that the filmmaker shows promise in his vision, but he also has much to accomplish to get on my good side.

Another noteworthy aspect that could justify the price of admission was Marlon Wayans himself.  I’ve only known Wayans for his comedy films, notably the “Scary Movie” franchise, but he has occasionally ventured into other genres outside his comfort zone.  Even though his recent comedy roles weren’t exactly great, seeing him in other movies is enough to retain my respect for him and his talents.  “Him” saw Wayans set aside his comedic persona once again to delve into the world of psychological horror, and the result was surprisingly good.  Marlon Wayans carried the film with his unnerving yet compelling portrayal of Isaiah’s subtly unhinged personality, further showcasing the comedian as more than just a one-hit wonder.  Although it might not earn him a nomination for the horror genre, it deepened my appreciation for Wayans's acting range before seeing his comical ways again in next year’s “Scary Movie 6”.  Tyriq Withers made a leap from one horror film to the next, as he plays a rookie superstar haunted by an injury hindering his pursuit of greatness.  While he mostly captured Cameron’s psychological struggle, there were some aspects where the direction for Withers’ performance felt pretty constrained.  I’m sure he did his best to match Wayans’s energy, but his performance fell short of reaching that full potential.

Overall, “Him” scores a few solid passes with its presentation and unsettling atmosphere, but it also fumbles the ball entirely in its narrative ideas to match the GOATs in the horror genre.  Regarding its thematic examination of the dangers of pursuing greatness and the impact of football injuries, this film could’ve been another great addition to a successful year for horror.  Instead, it finds itself sidelined alongside “The Conjuring: Last Rites” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer”, disrupting the genre's impressive streak once again.  Fortunately, it was tolerable enough for me to admire Marlon Wayans’ unconventional performance and Kira Kelly’s dark, hallucinatory cinematography.  Yet, due to its subpar screenplay, uninspiring direction, lackluster scares, and disjointed build-ups, this newcomer has the skills to play, but lacks the finesse to join the genre’s big leagues.  I would only recommend the film to football enthusiasts and fans of Wayans’s previous roles.  Otherwise, you might be better off exploring a different sport.

C-