HIM : Tuesday 7th October 2025

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'HIM' earlier this week, and this American supernatural psychological sports horror film that is Co-Written and Directed by Justin Tipping in only his second feature film Directing outing following 2016's 'Kicks'. He has Directed a number of TV series episodes including four episodes of 'Twenties' in 2020, three each of 'Flatbush Misdemeanours' and 'Run the World' in 2021, and four of 'Joe vs. Carole' in 2022. The film is Produced by Jordan Peele's ('Get Out', 'Us' and 'Nope') Monkeypaw Productions. The film was released in the US on 19th September, and here in Australia last week, has so far grossed US$26M off the back of a US$27M production budget and has generated less than favourable critical reviews.

The film opens with a young Cameron 'Cam' Cade (Austin Pulliam) sat patiently in front of his big screen TV waiting for the American football final to begin. His favourite football team, the San Antonio Saviors win the league championship, but his joy turns to sadness when his quarterback idol, Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans) suffers a compound fracture to his leg while scoring the game winning touchdown. Cam's father, Cam Snr. (Don Benjamin) tells him that real men are willing to make sacrifices. We then fast forward fourteen or so years and Cam (Tyriq Withers) is now a rising football star in his own right, and his father has passed away. Encouraged by his mother Yvette (Indira G. Wilson) and his girlfriend Adrienne (Tierra Whack) he trains for the league combine (a week-long showcase occurring every February where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Football League coaches, general managers, and scouts). One evening, while practicing late on an empty field, Cam is approached from behind but someone wearing a goat costume, who beats him over the head with a blunt instrument causing a head injury that has the potential to end his career aspirations.

Spurred on by his agent, Tom (Tim Heidecker), Cam plans to attend the combine to pursue the Saviors' quarterback position, despite the risk of permanent brain damage if he succumbs to another head injury. While overstimulated due to his concussion, Cam lashes out at his cousin and Tom, and refuses to take part in the combine. Tom later reveals that Isaiah is considering retirement with his contract due to expire at the end of the year, and has offered to train Cam for a week at a remote desert compound to prove himself a worthy successor. Cam accepts and travels there, encountering crazed Isaiah fans led by Marjorie (Naomi Grossman), who attempt to intimidate him out of replacing their hero. Cam meets Isaiah for the first time in person, and after introducing themselves and each bestowing complements on the other, they get down to the serious business of why Cam is there. 

At the compound, Isaiah puts Cam through disturbing challenges each day - with day #1 being Fun, Day #2 Poise, Day #3 being Respect, Day #4 being Leadership, Day #5 Vision and Day #6 Sacrifice. On one such day this includes a practice drill where a jugs machine repeatedly hits a player in the face causing a seriously blackened eye, a knocked out tooth and a lot of blood, but nonetheless seemingly pleased and honoured to have been of service. And on another occasion during a drill Cam severely headbutts another player, where that other player ends up writhing around on the ground concussed. 

Cam secretly receives shots of Isaiah's blood, which he is led to believe will boost his energy, and he subsequently experiences frequent hallucinations of masked figures, which he attributes to his own concussion. While in a sauna, Cam is attacked by Marjorie and overpowers her by almost choking her to death, before Isaiah arrives and emotionlessly kills her, much to Cam's consternation. As Cam tries to leave, Isaiah's wife, Elsie (Julia Fox), apologises for her husbands actions, and seduces him. Cam wakes the next morning to Isaiah holding him at gunpoint, demanding to know if Cam and Elsie slept together, which he denies. Isaiah ridicules Cam for feeling guilty about his girlfriend, telling him that winners have no remorse.

On the Thursday evening Elsie invites Cam to a secret party to meet the owners of the Saviors. Upon arrival, Marco (Jim Jefferies), the team doctor, whispers to Cam to 'run' before leaving. The owners toast Cam and give him a glass of a strange red liquid, which he knocks back in one go, unaware that it is in fact Isaiah's blood. A disoriented Cam wanders into a side room and finds Marco's severed head perched up on a table. Elsie comforts him as he loses consciousness. Cam wakes up later in an ice bath at Isaiah's compound, connected to an IV of Isaiah's blood. He rips out the IV, injects a syringe with the word 'run' handwritten on the side left by Marco, and grabs a heavy glass trophy, with the intent on killing Isaiah and escaping. 

Cam finds Isaiah watching a video of his adoring cheering fans. Isaiah reveals he is part of a line of manufactured 'Greatest of All Time' (GOAT) players who gain enhanced abilities from ritual blood transferred down a lineage from one GOAT player to the next. Isaiah tells Cam they must fight to the death with one GOAT transfusion victor. After a struggle, Cam beats Isaiah unconscious with a helmet which he repeats twice more before dropping the helmet and finishing the job with his bare fists.

Cam leaves the room bloodied, and steps onto a football field in the bright sunlight where he finds Elsie, the Saviors' owners, and Tom, all wearing animal masks. They present him with a contract to sign, sight unseen, revealing that Cam's father arranged for him to be the next GOAT. They explain that the earlier masked attack was staged to lead Cam to the Saviors. Cam refuses to sign the contract and, in a violent outburst, kills Elsie, all the owners, and the masked attacker, who is revealed to be Isaiah and Cam's trainer, Malek, using a dual hammer and spike, and sword. However, he spares Tom, who is subsequently dragged into a pentagram and destroyed by some unseen force. A blood soaked Cam walks past masked cheerleaders and marching band members and out of the compound. 

There's not too many films out there that attempt to blend a sport with the horror genre, and on this basis Director and Co-Writer Tipping and Writers Zack Akers and Skip Bronkie deserve kudos for giving it a go, and trying to deliver us something relatively new and fresh. The first two acts are solid enough, but by the time the third act ratchets into gear it's lost its way and the film gives way to an over the top violent bloodfest that we have seen hundreds of times before and that begs more questions than answers. Marlon Wayans carries this film on his broad shoulders and Tyriq Withers gives a more than passable performance, and as for Jordan Peele's contribution as Producer, lets just say that when the team doctor Marco tells Cam to 'run' he could just as well have said 'Get Out' and we would have known we were watching a Peele production! The film looks good, makes the most of its relatively modest budget of US$27M, but in the final analysis is all style over substance, and certainly won't go down in history as one of the GOAT.

'Him' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-