What’s It About

A promising young up-and-coming football player (Tyriq Withers) is invited to train at the isolated compound of a dynasty team’s aging quarterback. The legendary almost-retired quarterback (Marlon Wayans) takes his protégé on a blood-chilling journey into the inner sanctum of fame, desire, power, and pursuit of excellence at all costs.

MOVIESinMO REVIEW

I should start by saying I desperately wanted to love this movie. I was so intrigued by the thought of Jordan Peele producing a psychological horror movie about football culture that I couldn’t help but get excited. Unfortunately, the film “Him” proves that even the best producers and a reasonable fascination with football can’t elevate a confused, messy, disjointed script that doesn’t seem to know how to tell the story it wants to tell. The movie follows Cameron Cade, played by Tyriq Withers, a young quarterback who dreams of playing for the San Antonio Saviors. Cameron grew up watching his hero, Isaiah White, lead the team to victory after victory. White is supposed to be the greatest of all time – better than Brady, Manning, or anyone else you can think of. After Cameron is ambushed by some random clown in a mascot costume right before the NFL combine, he thinks his future looks pretty bleak. But then White himself calls and wants Cameron to come train with him for a week at his desert hideaway. What sounds like an opportunity of a lifetime quickly immerses Cameron in a far more disturbing and unsettling path. White’s version of “training” is torture by any other name disguised as football drills. The legendary football quarterback, played by Marlon Wayans in what is probably his best role since “White Chicks,” subjects Cameron to psychological games that would send anyone over the edge of madness. Just keeping track of White’s crew, including his wife, Elsie (played by Julia Fox), playing with Cameron’s mind – even going so far as to making nasty remarks about his deceased father – is torment enough. All of this is done with only a modicum of concern for Cameron’s physical safety. The biggest problem with “Him” is that director Justin Tipping can’t decide what kind of movie he’s making. Is it a sports drama about the pressure to succeed? Is it a horror film about toxic masculinity? Is it a supernatural thriller? The answer seems to be all of the above, and that’s exactly why it doesn’t work. The movie jumps between these different ideas without connecting them in any meaningful way. Tipping clearly has talent behind the camera. Some scenes look amazing, especially when he uses infrared cameras during the violent parts or shows us Cameron’s point of view from inside his helmet. The desert compound looks incredible, too – like something from a science fiction movie mixed with a fancy spa. But pretty visuals can’t hide the fact that the story makes no sense. The screenplay reads as though it were crafted by three individuals who never discussed because, in effect, it was. The two original writers (Skip Bronkie and Zack Akers) sold their script to Peele’s company, and then, Tipping rewrote it. What we get is a low-quality mix of ideas that make no effort to combine. Characters deliver lines that sound profound but have no substance. The dialogue is full of sports clichés that are supposed to pass for wisdom. What makes this even more frustrating is that there’s a good movie buried somewhere in this mess. The idea of examining what it costs to be great at something, especially in a sport as violent as football, could have been powerful. Though it aspires to investigate themes of Black masculinity and young athletes’ pressure, the movie struggles to navigate these topics with any nuance or cultural understanding. To top it off, most of the creative team behind the camera is non-Black, which makes the copious use of culturally racially-embedded language feel contrived and awkward. Tyriq Withers does his best as Cameron, and you can see he has real potential as an actor. He convinces you that this character could actually be a top draft pick, which isn’t easy for someone who’s never played professional football. However, the script transforms Cameron into a passive character who merely reacts to the events unfolding around him, rather than driving his own narrative. Withers deserves better material that would allow him to highlight his true talents. Marlon Wayans provides genuine zeal to Isaiah White, establishing him as both a mentor and a cult leader. He can be terrifying when he wants to be, but the script never allows the audience to understand White’s motivation. Is he trying to help Cameron or trying to take him down? The film seems to believe this is a more nuanced question than it is. Wayans tries to make White feel human, but the writing keeps him as a one-dimensional villain who changes personality whenever the plot needs him to. Julia Fox shows up as White’s wife. She somehow manages to be more interesting than anyone else in the movie despite having maybe five minutes of screen time. She brings natural charisma to every scene she’s in, playing what’s basically just Julia Fox in a different setting. The supporting cast, including Tim Heidecker as Cameron’s money-hungry agent, feels wasted in roles that don’t matter to the story. The horror elements never work because Tipping doesn’t understand how to build tension. The movie uses loud noises, blood, and disorienting images in place of legitimate tension. There is an early scene where players are the victims of high-speed footballs being thrown at their faces, and this scene is deeply upsetting. Beyond that, the film has nothing that comes close to that. The supernatural aspect of the plot feels as if it were inserted after the fact, as the filmmakers figured they needed something to add excitement to the movie. By the time the credits roll, “Him” has wasted a talented cast, impressive production values, and an interesting premise. The movie runs about 95 minutes, but it feels much longer because nothing meaningful happens for most of that time. Scenes drag on without purpose, and the pacing makes you check your watch constantly. This movie makes me worried about putting too much trust in producer names. Having Jordan Peele involved raised my expectations, but having his name in the credits doesn’t equate to quality. “Him” feels muddled, like a student film that had too much funding and not enough cadre. It is the type of film that equates confusion with depth. If you are looking for a good sports film, please look elsewhere, and if your desire is for a psychological horror film with depth, many other offerings are better. “Him” tries to be both and succeeds at being neither. It’s a disappointing mess that wastes everyone’s time, including yours.

OUR RATING – A WHAT THE HAIL MARY 2

MEDIA

• Genre – Horror
• Street date
• Digital – October 7, 2025
• 4K/BluRay/DVD – ‎ November 11, 2025
• Video – 1080p
• Screen size 2.39:1
• Sound – English Dolby Atmos, English: Dolby Digital 7.1, French: , Spanish: Dolby Digital 7.1
• Subtitles – English SDH, French, Spanish

Extras

• Feature Commentary with Director/Co-Writer Justin Tipping
• Alternate Ending: Zay’s Nightmare
• Deleted End Credits Scene: Food or Freedom
• Deleted Scenes:
  • Cheers – features Tyriq Withers
  • Don’t Be a Mascot – features Marlon Wayans and Tyriq Withers
  • The Publicist – features Marlon Wayans, Tyriq Withers and Julia Fox
  • Fantasy Football – features Tyriq Withers and Julia Fox
  • Cam’s Discovery – features Tyriq Withers and Julia Fox
• Becoming Them – Tyriq Withers and Marlon Wayans didn’t just train like athletes — they learned to think like them. From strict diets and daily workouts to meditation sessions and leadership drills, we explore how these two actors didn’t just play the part—they lived it.
• The Sport of Filmmaking – From integrated lighting and military grade thermal cameras to detailed prosthetics and elevated sets, see how everything came together to create a film as spiritual as it is cinematic.
• Anatomy of a Scene:
  • Rebirth
  • A Diabolical Game of Catch
• Hymns of a G.O.A.T. – Go behind the scenes with composer Bobby Krlic as he heightens the film’s psychological edge through score—layering aggressive textures, foreboding tensions, and atmospheric sound design that heighten every moment.