In Him, director Justin Tipping attempts to merge sports drama with psychological horror. It’s an intriguing pitch on paper, especially with Get Out, Us and Nope director Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions backing it, but the execution collapses under its own weight. Instead of a sharp fusion of genres, the film is a messy, aimless grab bag of half-formed ideas.
The story follows Cameron Cade (Tyriq Withers), an hot-headed young quarterback whose career is derailed by a devastating injury. His shot at redemption comes when retired football icon Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans) invites him to an isolated training retreat. What begins as a second chance soon warps into something far more sinister, as Cameron realises Isaiah’s world is built on secrets, rituals and illegal activities.
That setup could’ve been a biting commentary on exploitation, masculinity or the darker costs of ambition. Instead, the movie just drifts. Scenes stretch into a shapeless void, full of characters muttering cryptic lines that hint at menace without ever delivering it.
Performances aren’t the problem here. Withers brings flashes of charisma and brilliance thoughout, while Wayans takes a surprising dramatic turn that hints at greater depth. But the script gives them nothing concrete to work with. The dialogue is clunky, relationships never develop and by the time the film lurches into its frankly baffling denouement, the actors are stranded in a story that’s completely lost its way.
Stylistically, the film leans hard on empty tricks: slow-motion hits, bone-crunch sound effects, moody close-ups that add nothing to the narrative. These flourishes feel like padding rather than style, as if the movie is trying to convince itself of its own profoundness by dragging out moments that don’t actually mean anything.
And then there’s the ending. Marketed as a shocking revelation, the climax is neither clever nor is it impressive. It doesn’t reframe what came before or open up new layers of meaning; it just confirms that the film never had much to say in the first place.
The real tragedy of Him is that it clearly wants to matter. It gestures toward themes of identity, ambition and the toll of greatness, but it never digs deep enough to uncover anything of substance.
