‘Him’ Review
Stars: Marlon Wayans, Tyriq Withers, Julia Fox, Tim Heidecker, Jim Jefferies | Written by Justin Tipping, Zack Ayers, Skip Bronke | Directed by Justin Tipping
Directed by Justin Tipping (Kicks) and produced by Jordan Peele, American football horror Him is thick with metaphor for the real-life ordeal faced by professional footballers in the US. As such, it’s rather heavy-handed and effectively fumbles the ball as a result.
Tyriq Withers plays Cameron Cade, a promising quarterback on the verge of being picked for a star team, having grown up wanting to become the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time), like his idol, Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans). However, when a sinister mascot viciously attacks Cade on the field, he’s left with a skull injury requiring several stitches, and a warning that a similar blow could prove fatal.
With his future hanging in the balance, Cade accepts an offer from White – whose career is coming to an end, though he’s still considered the GOAT – to receive both rehabilitation and training at his secret desert compound. Driven to succeed at all costs, Cade undergoes a series of increasingly bizarre rituals and practices, including mysterious blood transfusions and a training session whereby another player gets a football shot into his face if Cade misses a pass.
Him’s central theme is obvious enough, commenting on the punishing ordeals players have to go through to succeed in real-life football, and the sacrifices they have to make. As presented here, it’s part Faustian pact and part endurance horror, with an unhealthy dose of cult-like religious fanaticism thrown in.
The metaphor works, up to a point, but the script (a former Black List screenplay, by Tipping, Zack Ayers and Skip Bronke) is all over the place, presenting a series of increasingly weird scenarios, without any narrative progression. For example, much is made of the concept of sacrifice, in particular with regard to family, yet we never see the impact of Cade’s ordeal on his family, or his relationship, and he never actually sacrifices anything, either literally or metaphorically.
Similarly, Him is beset with missed opportunities, and whatever point it’s trying to make gets consistently lost, just as it’s never entirely clear what White’s ulterior motive is for Cade. Worse, this is one of those movies where you can immediately think of several ways in which it could have been better, and that’s never a good sign.
It’s a shame, because there is promising material here, not least in the real-life conjunction of Christian values (“God, Family, Football” is a real-life mantra that recurs in the film) and bloodthirsty, gladiatorial combat that can lead to crippling injury or death. The film even goes as far as to stage a scene so that it looks like The Last Supper, but to no obvious effect, other than the fact that it’s out of nowhere and mildly amusing.
Him also drops the ball when it comes to the part played by sports-obsessed parents, driving their children to succeed, knowing the dangers they face. We get a flashback at the beginning of Cade’s dad, and a brief glimpse of his family after that, but that’s it.
The actors, at least, are fine. Withers delivers a powerfully physical performance, and Wayans ditches his usual comedy schtick in favour of an effectively dramatic turn that works well, suggesting a former star who knows his time is coming to an end. There’s also strong support from Julia Fox (delightfully weird, as White’s lusty influencer wife) and from comedian Jim Jeffries as White’s wise-cracking, deadpan sports doctor.
As for the body horror aspect, aside from the aforementioned football-to-the-face scene and a seeming obsession with X-ray photos to illustrate the extent of the physical damage, the movie is relatively tame – certainly tamer than its 18 certificate in the UK would suggest. Still, at least there’s a decent electronic score, from composer Bobby Krlic, aka The Haxan Cloak.
Ultimately, Him is a frustrating experience, because, ironically, it never pushes itself hard enough – it’s never scary, or gory enough to make any real impact, and the script fails to make any points that aren’t immediately obvious. In the end, you can’t help thinking that a more serious drama about the real-life horrors faced by American football players might have been a better bet, at least in terms of delivering chills.
** 2/5
Him is in cinemas now.
