HIM throws Hail Marys left and right, which is both its strength and weakness.
What would you do for greatness? Would you push yourself harder than you ever have before? Would you break through every obstacle in front of you? Would you sacrifice everything? Would you be willing to fight, even to the death? Would you sell your soul?
HIM puts us in the middle of a struggle for greatness; not in just being great, but in being the greatest, the GOAT. That is the path Cam (new comer Tyriq Withers), up-and-coming star quarterback, is on, even if he doesn’t realize the full extent of that journey yet. But, Isaiah (veteran Marlon Wayans), the greatest player in the game today, is going to take him into the depth of obsession and sacrifice, into what it takes to be the GOAT.
HIM is both familiar in its elements (think The Devil’s Advocate meets Whiplash) while also feeling like a breath of fresh air, through its dynamic editing and genre mixings. After sustaining a brain injury during a brutal attack, star quarterback Cam is left wondering if his career is over before it even started. But, in an offer that feels like destiny, Cam is invited to spend a week in the desert with Isaiah, his idol, to test his skills. The fateful week quickly devolves into violent chaos, though, as Isaiah proves to be incredibly unstable and teetering towards insanity…or is he? HIM takes the classic frameworks of “deal with the devil” horror and “obsessive dedication” thriller and creates a story about masculinity, specifically the destructive urge to push towards oblivion in the pursuit of the unobtainable, as these two gridiron warriors circle each other like battling lions.
Wayans and Withers are fantastic here. Withers plays Cam as a bit naive and self conscious at first, a boy unsure of how to become a man, while Wayans first appears to us a nurturing father figure, looking to help bring greatness out of Cam. As the film goes on, though, we watch as both men shift and change; Wayans slowly becomes harsher, meaner, a bit of a bastard in every interaction, always looking to assert dominance. Withers, on the other hand, slowly comes into his own, quicker to meet Wayans gaze and square his shoulders, and slowly starting to find his own rhythm of control and dominance. Both actors sell the dynamic, that of two men, each looking to conquer the other, perfectly.
HIM takes a lot of turns you’d never expect, all while looking absolutely gorgeous. I consider it high praise to say something looks like a Tarsem film, but HIM has such an amazing collection of incredible sights; brutalist architecture in the desert, a psychotic painted fan in a darkened hallway, a couple of chalk white “leather head” voyeurs watching from behind glass, an x-ray death by headbutt, a football field filled with faceless cheerleaders and an ensemble of pig faced tycoons. There is so much beautifully shot insanity here that I was caught off guard by something every 10 minutes or so.
To dive into the themes of HIM, though, is where the film loses a bit of steam. This wants to be about 10 different things, from a film about the insidious nature of NFL contracts, to the dangers of CTE, to destructive celebrity worshiping, to secret high society grooming, and like 10 other things. As such, HIM kinda bounces around these different elements constantly, never really landing on anything definitively, and by the time we reach the climax, it takes such a left turn shift towards a totally new theme that you can’t help but to think “what was the point of all of that?”
That being said, though, I honestly appreciate all that HIM, and, by extension, director Justin Tipping, is trying to be. In a cinematic landscape that is bereft of directors taking chances, Tipping is just throwing Hail Marys left and right. I’d much rather watch a film that is a bit wonky because of the swings it takes rather than a film rendered soulless by its cookie-cutter plot and themes.
Specs:
Like I mentioned more than a few times, HIM is gorgeous, and the 4K presentation here makes sure it remains beautiful, through the sun scorched desert, to the harsh pinks and reds of the inner rooms of the brutalist home, to the crawling and shifting of things and being within the darkness.
For features, this disc is genuinely packed. There is not one but two alternate endings here (and, as a note, the “Zay’s Nightmare” ending would’ve made a fantastic theatrical ending, both in wrapping things up, and also giving us one last great final Wayans scene), a collection of deleted scenes, a feature commentary with director Justin Tipping, and a whopping 4 featurettes. For a release in 2025, this disc is stacked.
HIM is exactly what I want out of my horror; bold, out there, and willing to take swings, both in its plot and themes, as well as its scares. It’s tense when it needs to be, goofy when it needs to be, and outright scary when it needs to be. HIM strives for greatness, and in doing so, it becomes something genuinely unique and worth your time.
Now available on 4K!
