Head injuries, a grim reality in contact sports like football, are known to cause devastating neurological damage. This stark truth underpins the disorienting horror film ‘HIM.’ When Cameron Cade (Tyriq Withers), a wide-eyed quarterback on the cusp of a pro career, suffers a brutal blow to the head, his world is turned upside down. Was it just a trauma-induced hallucination, or is he genuinely witnessing malevolent forces at play?
Directed by Justin Tipping, ‘HIM’ cleverly blends psychological horror with a haunted-house narrative. The ominous setting is a stark, Brutalist mansion deep in the Texas desert, home to star quarterback Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans) of the Saviors. In a seemingly generous act of mentorship, Isaiah invites the still-recovering Cam to train with him. The stakes are high: the team’s owners are debating whether to keep Isaiah for another season or pass the torch to Cam. Isaiah, who becomes visibly agitated discussing the ‘sacrifices’ he’s made to achieve GOAT status, sees this as a delicate period. For Cam, whose father obsessed over Isaiah’s career, this is the moment he’s been striving for his entire life.
Isaiah radiates an unsettling aura from their first meeting, casually mounting an animal skull on his wall. His calm demeanor amidst increasingly disturbing events only heightens the tension. Cam is regularly injected with a mysterious painkiller by Isaiah’s personal physician, while Isaiah’s influencer wife, Elsie (Julia Fox), embodies a bleach-browed femme fatale. In one particularly bizarre scene, a group of muscular, shadowy men willingly endure repeated football throws to the face simply because Isaiah commands it.
The film draws a heavy-handed parallel between sports and religion, depicting die-hard fans as disciples, star athletes as gods, and the professional sports machine as a system built on rituals and unwavering devotion. From the drafting process to roaring stadiums where spectators seem to speak in tongues, ‘HIM’ never shies away from these connections. However, its effectiveness is occasionally hampered by Isaiah’s overly dramatic pronouncements about brotherhood and his ‘football, family, and God’ priorities.
Marlon Wayans’s performance aims to showcase a new, darker side, and while he’s convincingly unhinged, he doesn’t quite achieve truly terrifying heights. Perhaps the lingering effects of his character’s past concussions have dulled his edge, or perhaps it’s the noticeable age and size difference between him and his protégé. Tyriq Withers, a real-life former college football player, delivers a wonderfully innocent portrayal, though he largely remains in a wide-eyed, disoriented state throughout the film. The movie’s fluid, intentionally chaotic editing immerses Cam in mental turmoil, but at times, viewers might feel like they’re watching an overly stylized music video. The frequent title cards announcing ‘poise’ or ‘leadership’ in medieval fonts break up the timeline, yet the overall sense of urgency is diminished by the film’s dizzying, convoluted aesthetic. The relentless soundtrack, while energetic, doesn’t always help ground the narrative amidst its sometimes hollow stylization.
One standout visual is the shift to X-ray vision whenever Cam is tackled. These brief, slow-motion sequences powerfully convey the brutal impact — the cracking bones and instant swelling — making the violence feel more visceral than any blood and gore could. It forces us to question how these players continue, suggesting that such extreme perseverance can only be cultivated through a form of intense psychological conditioning.
Backed by Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions, a name now synonymous with Black horror, ‘HIM’ taps into potent, politically charged themes: Black athletes as gladiators for white owners, and the insidious way these grand fantasies can consume younger generations. However, the film occasionally takes these weighty concepts for granted. For much of its runtime, we, like Cam, feel trapped in a dark stadium tunnel, grappling with familiar ideas and vague threats, yearning for a more concrete, impactful conclusion.