Think about two groups of people. One group is your sports loving fanatic and the other is your boujee arthouse film buff. In the one, you have those who live for competition and the love of the game and the theater and spectacle of the show and the other has those who live for nuanced meaning, metaphor and grandiose displays aimed at deeper meaning. This is all very generalized of course, because no group is completely homogenous. But consider the groups as described and then mash them together. The resulting Venn diagram overlap where I find myself and who I believe Him will truly resonate with, but those outside the overlap will likely not appreciate the film.
Directed by Justin Tipping and written by Skip Bronkie, Zack Akers, and Tipping, HIM follows Cameron Cade, played by Tyriq Withers. Who had been groomed from early childhood to be the best of the best. Cade is a bright but raw star quarterback living in the swirling bedlam that surrounds superstar athletes. Crazed fans, hungry outsiders looking for paydays, handouts and trust issues all weigh down a young star being attacked on all sides.
A bizarre injury hobbles Cade’s ability to perform in football’s coveted NFL Combine, thus jeopardizing his playing career. But he receives an invite from his hero, the ultimate quarterback, Isaiah White, played by Marlon Wayans. What begins as a dream mentorship quickly slides into a nightmare, where the line between hallucination and reality disappears. This sports drama moves into a cultural critique horror. HIM brims with over-the-top imagery and visuals depicting the psychological costs of giving everything to win a game. Masculinity, faith, and violence intertwine in American mythmaking. It offers haunting images and blood-soaked spectacle.
For those of us in the overlap between sports fan and art critic, I think it works well, but I am afraid that this mix will fall flat for most. Firstly, because it’s easy to conflate what is really being communicated. This movie is not about winning football games, nor is it about being famous. These are ancillary to the film’s core. This movie is truly about going beyond what is normal, natural and rational to be the absolute best there ever was … to be HIM … the GOAT … the greatest of all time. Wayans shows Wither’s character just how far he will have to go. It’s beyond sanity, and beyond bizarre or grotesque. It’s about breaking down a person’s soul to build back up and be great.
Without understanding that message, I can see how many will not like this movie. Some will reel at the seemingly hamfisted treatment of traumatic brain injuries. It’s true this is one of the most deadly and debilitating issues that is facing American football and it should be treated as important. Again though, that is not what this movie is about.
Others will see the sports and then the freakish cult surrounding the athletes. They will see crazed visuals that stop them in their tracks to mouth “WTF?” It won’t jive with the glam and glitter or perceived love of the game. It strays far from normal and from sanity. It holds a funhouse mirror up to us as sports fans and reflects sick and twisted freaks who eat, sleep and breathe for their beloved teams.
The visceral power of HIM is undeniable. Few films have captured the sheer brutality of football so vividly; every crunch of helmet against helmet feels like a horror set piece. Watching this movie and then tuning in to Sunday NFL feels obscene — a reminder of how easily spectacle can mask human suffering. I can’t get over how great Wayans’ performance was. He’s known mostly for comedy, but Wayans has dramatic chops. Requiem for a Dream stands out in his resume, but here he delivers what may be the performance of his career. His Isaiah White is part Tom Brady and part Pennywise — charismatic, monstrous, and terrifyingly unpredictable. He toys with his protégé and the audience alike, grinning as he pulls them deeper into the abyss. Withers was also excellent. I was not expecting to like him after watching the latest installment of I Know What You Did Last Summer. I’ve met so many athletes over the years and he truly embodied the humble nice guy athlete. It’s honestly a bit uncanny.
HIM is messy, and sometimes uneven, but it’s also bold, stylish, and unforgettable. For the first time in a long time, I was actually leaning forward in my seat while watching a screening. I was enthralled. I believe it’s true psychological horror that looks to bend perception and has a home with the likes of Smile, Event Horizon and Jacob’s Ladder.
Sports fans will most likely hate it and critics will probably pan the ending scene. For them, this movie will at best be 4/10. However, it has the markings of a true cult classic for those of us in the overlap and that means it’s a solid 8/10 for me.
