‘Him’ scores a touchdown tackling toxicity in sports through horror

Gory. Unsettling. Surreal. Messy. These are the four words that describe the theatrical experience of watching Justin Tipping’s “Him.” While Tipping has directed and co-directed “Kicks” and episodes of the limited series “Joe vs Carole”, this is his first major film release. Jordan Peele and his production company, Monkeypaw Productions, funded and produced the film.

“Him” is a psychological horror sports film about rising star quarterback Cameron Cade (Tyriq Withers) suffering a traumatic brain injury while on his way to becoming a part of the film’s equivalent of the NFL. While his career is in jeopardy, he receives a once in a lifetime opportunity to train with the legendary championship winning quarterback Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans), at a remote sports facility owned by Isaiah. Nothing is as it seems, however, as Cameron is slowly pulled in by Isaiah’s charisma into a mysterious, dark plot.

With this year being full of original and provocative horror films, such as Zach Cregger’s Weapons, “Him” dares to stand out by being a horror film that is about topics that have not been covered in mainstream horror media: sports injuries and the impact of potentially career-ending physical trauma on athletes. While there are moments where the plot seems confusing and is seemingly folding over itself, it was still a breath of fresh air in a year full of horror movies striving to be different from the rest.

The main selling point of the movie is its tension and atmosphere. From the set design of the surreal and near eldritch training facility in the middle of a desert, to the disgusting crunch of characters’ skulls shattering, the production design of “Him” is top tier.

When there are not horrifying depictions of sports violence, the moments of levity with Cameron look and feel almost beautiful. There is a dense color palette that decorates the cinematography; it allows each scene to have its own distinct look and feel, with no singular scene looking and feeling the same. This creates a feast for the eyes and the senses as the film progresses into madness.

The most controversial aspect of “Him” is the writing. The first half of “Him” is a tight exploration of the football industry, using Cameron as an example of an athlete who worked his whole life to become one of the ‘greats.’ Cameron is at his lowest point at the beginning of the film, and he is slowly groomed by Isaiah’s ideals for succeeding and spirals with the intent of becoming ‘better.’

Isaiah has each day of Cameron’s training dedicated to twisting the physical and mental aspects of Cameron as a player, and when the film sticks to this premise at the beginning, it works really well. There is a meandering tension of trying to imagine what horrible act against nature Isaiah will put Cameron through next. It crescendos beautifully in some truly gruesome moments of body horror that will make anyone wince. Jim Jefferies plays the lead facility doctor, and his presence early on causes immediate tension in the mysteries of the training facility.

However, as the film goes on, it starts to lose its footing. It moves away from the first half’s daily mechanism and focuses more on exploring the surreal aspects of Cameron’s descending sanity, turning what once was a pretty grounded yet brutal premise into a confusing third act that asks more questions than it likes answering.

Examples of this include some of the movie’s side characters, who have a powerful yet mysterious presence up until the third act where their characterization seemingly changes out of nowhere. Alongside this, the last 20 minutes of the film seemingly come out of nowhere, leaving the audience with an ending that seems safe when the first half was building up to something more interesting.

Outside of these grievances, what keeps “Him” from falling too far into the deep end is the dynamic between Cameron and Isaiah. Withers manages to do so much with Cameron’s character while at first keeping a subtle, more closeted performance. For being his second major film role, he consistently manages to pull the viewer into trying to guess what he is feeling, thinking and what he is going to do next.

Wayans also needs no introduction. Playing an eccentric star player, Wayans steals the show anytime he is on screen. He rides the line between insanity and a broken man who is trying to come to terms with his career ending. His moments of introspection are felt, and the back and forth with Cameron during these moments are some of the most powerful in the film.

Overall, “Him” is a unique depiction of masculinity and the toxic cycle of abuse for athletes in the sports industry that has some disturbing highs and head-scratching lows. It makes up for its strange writing choices with its excellent sound and production design and the addictive dynamic between Wayans’ and Withers’ characters. It will leave many audiences shocked and gasping for air.

For being such an ambitious film for a directorial debut, there is no doubt that Tipping has the opportunity to make his next projects truly something special with how much potential he has for creating horror.