Director: Justin Tipping
Cast: Marlon Wayans, Tyriq Withers, Julia Fox, Tim Heidecker, Jim Jefferies
Screenplay: Zack Akers, Skip Bronkie, Justin Tipping
96 mins. Rated R for strong bloody violence, language throughout, sexual material, nudity and some drug use.

HIM has been frequently referred to in the on-line space as a Jordan Peele film, and it’s no wonder. Every poster, trailer, and piece of marketing have firmly defined it as being produced by the very popular and well-regarded director of Get Out and Nope. It’s clear as HIM goes on that it doesn’t have the finesse of Peele’s directorial catalog, and while it contains a number of disturbing and fascinating visuals, it’s devoid of a central idea, seemingly intending to showcase the horrors of professional athleticism, but by the time the film reaches its conclusion, it hasn’t quite figured out the story it wants to tell.

Cameron Cade (Tyriq Withers, I Know What You Did Last Summer) might be football’s next great legend, and it’s no surprise. He’s been preparing all his life to follow in the footsteps of his idol, Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans, Requiem for a Dream), but after he is assaulted late one night and suffers a head injury, he’s worried about his future with the game. That’s when Isaiah himself steps in and offers him the opportunity of a lifetime: a one-week training and assessment camp at Isaiah’s compound to find out if he still has what it takes to play. As the days go by, though, Cameron discovers Isaiah’s plans to give him the most intense training session of his life as he has to decide how much he will sacrifice for the fame, glory, and legacy of the game.

At its surface, there are rudimentary ideas being played with in HIM, like the toll the sport takes on the body and the sacrifices made for physical perfection. These ideas are not fully fleshed out, and their tenuous connection to the horror elements made me feel like the screenplay was originally a drama and then horror elements were transplanted in for commercial value. Much of the horror is also telegraphed and cheaply simplistic, frequently relying on poorly-timed jump scares for effect. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that most of the scares came from a focus group in a conference room asking, “Wouldn’t it be scary if…?” for a few afternoons.

Marlon Wayans can do horror pretty well, and he creates an intense and villainous character who takes malicious joy in testing Cameron. I don’t think the screenplay provides him the material to make the heel turn, and he kind of just becomes unhinged as soon as the training sessions begin, but his physical performance is nevertheless unnerving. I also think Jim Jefferies (Extinct) is a standout as Isaiah’s personal physician who has reservations about his role in the proceedings and seeks to warn Cameron.

Tipping certainly has an idea for how his film should look, with some striking and disturbing visuals that are violent, impactful, and memorable. His visual style often reminded me of Brandon Cronenberg’s body modification composition. Even for horror fans like me, there are impressively disturbing images scattered throughout HIM, even if they don’t serve to elevate the tension or horror of the experience.

HIM has some striking horror visuals, but the execution left plenty to be desired. I get the feeling that the creative team didn’t have a confidence in telling the story, and it comes off fairly hollow and uninspired, especially when the narrative tips into its climax with a very silly final scene that seemingly came up with rules that the previous 90 minutes hadn’t set up or put into motion. I was really rooting for HIM, but it came up short. Still, there are seeds of an effective horror filmmaker within, but it just didn’t come together at the end.

2.5/5
-Kyle A. Goethe