Him, 2025.
Directed by Justin Tipping.
Starring Tyriq Withers, Marlon Wayans, Julia Fox, Tim Heidecker, Jim Jefferies, Guapdad 4000, Tierra Whack, Maurice Greene, Don Benjamin, Indira G. Wilson, GiGi Erneta, Esodie Geiger, Kiara Gomez Glad Bak, Naomi Grossman, and Jermaine Washington.
SYNOPSIS:
A young athlete descends into a world of terror when he’s invited to train with a legendary champion whose charisma curdles into something darker.
While undergoing examination for head trauma, aspiring quarterback (no ties to the National Football League, for reasons that become increasingly obvious) Cameron Cade (Tyriq Withers), who has been restricted from participating in the upcoming draft combine by his doctor, shrugs that off and asks if they would clear him solely based on being fans of football. It’s one of several early loaded moments teasing director Justin Tipping’s Him (co-written by podcasters Zack Akers and Skip Bronkie, which goes a long way explaining this amateur hour script that mainly consists of swearing and shouting) as a scathing indictment of not only the NFL and how players place unrealistic responsibilities upon themselves to push through dangerous conditions such as CTE, but the moral ethics that exist for average Joes like myself waking up at 11 AM on a Sunday to make sure my fantasy football lineup is good to go while I cheer or curse players out through the entire slate of games, prioritizing their performances (which correlates to my performance) over their safety.
Sometimes, it is easy to get caught up in the entertainment of the sport and forget how unforgiving and brutal it is (several players are injured during a single game alone week after week), meaning that the gladiatorial comparisons the film and characters make throughout, while eye-rollingly on-the-nose, come with promise and potential. That’s the entirety of Him: a film overflowing with tantalizing ideas that quickly fall apart harder than a score-leading Chicago Bears when the 4th quarter begins.
Nevertheless, Cameron is following in the footsteps of his idol, veteran quarterback Isaiah White (a wasted return to drama for Marlon Wayans, even if his uncomfortable cultish performance is the strongest aspect), who is thinking about retiring, having been the star for the Saviors (yes, even the name of the team is a blunt, in-your-face metaphor). His exclusion from the combine has dealt a blow to his draft prospects. However, that fortune quickly changes as it turns out Isaiah is looking to train a successor in his isolated compound, which happens to be surrounded by zealot fans who don’t want to see their GOAT retire. Keeping with the theme, it’s another undercooked element that concludes with a head-scratching conclusion, and one that seems more concerned with shock value violence and attempts at cheap scares than anything of substance.
Broken up into singular days of training functioning as chapters, Isaiah puts Cameron through a gauntlet of trials that alarmingly become hostile and dangerous. At one point, “free agents” show up to participate in the drills, happy to put their bodies on the line if it improves Cameron’s chances of being a worthy successor. The throughline of these drills is to, eventually, kill the person that Cameron was so that he can embrace a life fully dedicated to greatness and football. This also means easing into hurting loved ones, which includes cheating on his high school sweetheart, something that is encouraged and hastened by the presence of Isaiah’s fashion icon wife, Elsie (Julia Fox). Her wardrobe, which at one point includes a metallic dress with blinking lights, might be the highlight of the film.
That’s because the majority of Him is interested in dabbling in everything from hallucinogenic to experimental types of jump scares and violence that are so far removed from anything of interest the film might have to say. By the time of its gory bloodbath of a conclusion (which tackles the racial dynamic of teams owned by predominantly white figures profiting off of Black expectations and pressures of achieving greatness, but far too late), with delightfully twisted visuals, such as a geyser of blood shooting onto field-goal posts, it’s a jolt to see if viewers are still awake. Similar to the Chicago Bears as an organization, Him is a mess that fails its committed performances and strong below-the-line craft.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder
