Sports and horror. It’s not very well-trodden ground in the world of film, but it’s definitely one I’m interested in. If you don’t count Space Jam (which you should because, if you really think about the concept of aliens stealing your talent and then being kidnapped and taken to another dimension, it truly is horrific), then there are very few mainstream examples.
Enter Him, the new film produced by Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw company, directed by Justin Tipping, and starring Tyriq Withers and Marlon Wayans. An up-and-coming quarterback (Withers) is invited to train with one of the GOATs of the league (Wayans) in what could be his final year on the field. But deciphering what is actually going on in the training compound takes its toll on the rookie QB. Mentally and physically.
Could this original concept score a touchdown for the genre, or did it fumble at 4th and Goal?
Sports.
Cameron Cade (Withers) has loved the San Antonio Saviors football team ever since he was a young boy, watching superstar quarterback Isaiah White win his first fictional equivalent and legally distinct version of the Super Bowl. In the 10 to 15 years that followed, Cade dedicated himself to becoming the next big thing in the world of football, hoping to become White’s replacement for the best team on the planet. All that changed when he was attacked, receiving a career-threatening head injury.
However, not to worry. The years of work getting to that point garnered the attention of the Saviors and Isaiah White, who is potentially in his farewell season. Invited to an exclusive training camp, does Cade have what it takes to prove himself to be a capable successor, or will he ruin his last chance at greatness? A GOAT-in-waiting can only be that way for so long, after all.
Scary Movie, White Chicks, and spoof comedy movies. That’s the reference point I have for Marlon Wayans, so it’s genuinely surprising to find him in a film with horrific overtones, serious and even gruesome in some scenes. Honestly, I had my doubts that he could pull off this sort of role.
But let me tell you, Marlon Wayans as Isaiah White is by far the best part of Him. He is a revelation.
Wayans got absolutely jacked for this role, and dayyyyyum, he looks good for it. This Tom Brady-like serial winner was something he was born to play. Wayans acts his ass off, being a chill mentor and even a father figure to Cade, but simultaneously becoming an intense, abusive coach with boundary issues. There’s a scene where he’s teaching Cade about how to step up as a leader, which sent chills down my sport-loving spine.
If there’s anything I would recommend in this film, it’s Wayans’ work.
Him gets so close to a bunch of different ideas that would have been cool to focus on for the whole film, but it doesn’t capitalize on those great setups. It steps right up to the edge of doing something really captivating, and then it switches focus to a brand new thing. In fact, when you see behind the curtain close to the ending, it sort of becomes a generic horror film. I was very disappointed that the horror and sports mash-up wasn’t explored in a more unique way.
For instance, early on, I thought this was building towards a psychological horror based on the dangers of concussion, and how it can make your brain mush if it’s not handled correctly. If Cade had become more and more f*cked up because he was exacerbating his head injury, that would have been something really cool.
There were also chances to set up a story that compares sport to a religion. I mean, they called the team, The Saviors, so it was right there! Toxicity of fan culture, never meet your heroes, doping in sports, the dangers of parental pressure, or maybe even a story focused on White’s desire to cling on to his sunsetting career would have all been better than what was told in this narrative. There was so much potential that it’s just sad to see the result.
Him has style in spades, with most of the film looking spectacular. However, that vision didn’t translate into a film fitting of that style. Once Cade arrives at White’s training complex and home, his days there act like chapters. Each one has a splash screen intro like “Day 5: LEADERSHIP” (I remember the Leadership title, but I don’t remember what day it was). My problem was that I was trying to tie the chapter’s title to the events happening on the screen, and I honestly don’t know if half of those made sense.
All of the words were synonymous with sports like Teamwork and… others. I don’t know! Because I couldn’t link the words to the lesson of the day, they don’t stick in my mind. What any of them had to do with firing a rifle at mannequins (and maybe one actual person, but that’s unconfirmed), I can’t work out. The structure just didn’t work that well for me. When you’re organising a film into chapters, I think you’ve got to make it painfully obvious why, and Him did not do that.
When I think of Him, I think of Freddy Adu. That kid was such a promising prospect in the world of football (soccer) that he signed his first professional deal at the age of 14. FOURTEEN! But what happened after that was a solid if unremarkable career that took him here, there and everywhere, never reaching the heights that were expected of him. So, that’s what I think of Him: a whole lot of wasted potential.
The combination of sports and horror was fertile ground, but none of the four or five good ideas that were hinted at came to fruition. Despite Marlon Wayans’ career-best acting performance, unfortunately, the story became too much of a muddled mess to save the film from simply being mediocre.
Just like [INSERT YOUR FAVORITE TEAM HERE]. Woaaaaaaahhhhh! Got your ass!
