HIM

Directed and co-written by Justin Tipping (Kicks) and produced by Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions alongside Universal Pictures, HIM (2025) operates as a rare hybrid of gridiron drama, psychological thriller, and occult horror. The narrative follows Cameron "Cam" Cade (Tyriq Withers), a generational collegiate quarterback standing on the threshold of the professional draft. Cam's lifelong ambition has been fueled by memories of his late father and their shared idol: Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans), the eight-time championship quarterback for the San Antonio Saviors who miraculously recovered from a gruesome, career-threatening leg injury decades prior.

On the eve of the pre-draft scouting combine, Cam’s dreams are violently derailed when a mysterious, masked assailant attacks him on a deserted field, inflicting a catastrophic traumatic brain injury. With team scouts balking at his prognosis, Cam receives an unexpected lifeline: Isaiah White himself, nearing retirement, invites the young prospect to an exclusive, weeklong training retreat at his secluded compound deep in the desert. Desperate to salvage his future and step into his idol's cleats, Cam accepts.

Upon arriving at the compound—a compound surrounded by fanatic, paint-smeared tailgaters living in a perpetual purgatorial vigil—Cam discovers that Isaiah’s training regimen extends far beyond playbook drills. Flanked by an influencer spouse (Julia Fox), an eccentric personal physician (Jim Jefferies), and sycophantic handlers, Isaiah subjects Cam to increasingly bizarre, torturous physical, biochemical, and psychological trials. As reality blurs under blinding desert heat and mounting neurological trauma, Cam must discern whether he is being groomed as an heir or led to an altar of sacrifice.

At its core, HIM serves as an indictment of the modern cult of athletic celebrity and the destructive doctrine of toxic hypermasculinity. Director Justin Tipping explores how young athletes—particularly Black athletes—are conditioned by parental figures and patriarchal systems to view their bodies as expendable commodities in exchange for glory, fame, and wealth. By framing football through supernatural and Faustian tropes, the film argues that the relentless pursuit of being the "G.O.A.T." (Greatest of All Time) is a form of spiritual self-immolation. Tipping highlights that modern sporting institutions function like Roman gladiatorial rings or modern sacrificial altars, where fans and executives worship spectacle while demanding the total physical and mental destruction of the players.

The film invites three distinct readings:

HIM arrived amid intense cultural reckoning regarding chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), concussions, and long-term neurodegenerative damage among NFL veterans. It also engaged with the broader sports discourse analyzing the monetization of college athletes and the commercial machinery that treats players as disposable assets.

While the film met with a largely negative critical response (holding a 30% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 39/100 on Metacritic) and struggled commercially, it garnered niche discussion as one of the few horror films in cinema history to center directly on American professional football. Furthermore, Marlon Wayans received widespread acclaim for his intense, terrifying dramatic turn, showcasing an unhinged, magnetic villainy that subverted his comedic roots.

Aggregated reviews reflected mixed to negative reactions, highlighted by specific points of praise and heavy criticism:

• Praised Elements: Marlon Wayans’ ferocious, go-for-broke dramatic performance balancing comedic timing with menacing intensity; the unique premise of utilizing American football as a horror staging ground; Kira Kelly's atmospheric cinematography; and Bobby Krlic's oppressive score.
• Main Criticisms: Screenplay incoherence resulting from juggling too many unresolved themes (CTE, religion, racial commodification, cult rituals); bludgeoning, blunt metaphors (such as football-lace surgical staples and Last Supper imagery); and a lack of sustained suspense in its convoluted second half.
• Controversial Moments: The abrupt escalation from a grounded sports recovery drama into gonzo, hallucinatory blood-magic, and the ambiguous handling of Cam's initial brain injury.

The overall consensus viewed the film as an audacious, visually stylish concept carried by Marlon Wayans that ultimately fumbled its ambitious social critique into an overstuffed, uneven horror narrative.