“Him,” is a psychological horror film about a young, nothing-to-something football star that combines a fair helping of body horror and societal commentary. It was directed by Jordan Tipping and released on Sept. 19.
The film got notable buzz because it tackles all-too-real subject matter and expands the genre of Black horror, something with producer Jordan Peele especially notable for. Peele is a comedian who became a genre-defining horror director, he’s known for his films “Nope,” “Us” and “Get Out.”
“Him” feels similar to Peele’s other films in its realism-turned-absurdity. The premise is basic enough: a young football player is determined to sacrifice anything to make it to the big leagues. However, this seemingly straightforward goal spirals out of control, bringing the audience a surreal interpretation of the industry and enough grisly violence to satisfy a stadium of fans.
Tyriq Withers, the actor playing the protagonist Cameron Cade, gave a nuanced performance, displaying all of his conflicting emotions and motivations quietly.
The cold open introduces one of the main themes outright. When young Cade sees his favorite player get a career-ending injury, his father forces him to look at the gruesome scene and tells his son that real men make sacrifices. This is the first of many gory injuries shown as symbols of strength.
For the rest of the film, Cade is determined to honor his father, be the embodiment of masculinity and become the greatest of all time. The mindset imparted by his father leaves Cade with blurred lines between pain and progress, causing him to push himself to the limit.
This relentless determination results in a head injury, and Cade ends up forfeiting his spot in the NFL Scouting Combine, one of his best shots at being recruited. He thinks his career is over, until he receives an invitation from his idol, Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans), to train for a week at his private compound.
Cade is among a strange group of people at the compound. White is an intense, unreadable man who taxidermies for fun and often flips suddenly from angry to hysterical. Elsie White (Julia Fox) is White’s wife, who, amidst some moments of sincerity, is enraptured in the world of partying and glamor. Marco (Jim Jefferies) is White’s personal doctor, and seems to be the only person who sees the horrifying reality of the compound.
The next week slowly devolves from intense training to overt violence, drug use, sexual coercion and fear. Nevertheless, Cade’s motivation to support his family remains steadfast. White tells him that whenever he can’t push his body any further, Cade should think of his family relying on him.
As he is hallucinating, dehydrated and unconscious after running in the desert, White offers Cade no remorse. He makes kissing sounds and calls Cade an “emotional pretty boy,” continuously using hypermasculinity as a tool for manipulation. This feels like an opportunity to make a greater statement about the mentality within professional sports, where physical strength and resilience are championed as a symbol of manhood and belonging.
The whole film is male-centric, with women on the sidelines as caretakers or sexual objects. However, this seems like an intentional choice rather than a misogynistic oversight. The way they talk about and treat women further sheds light on the dehumanizing nature of the training.
We also see religion warped into White’s arsenal of manipulation tactics. Growing up, Cade’s household had a shrine to God and their favorite sports team, inseparable from each other. Twisting this symbol is White, who repeatedly refers to himself as a “god” and dismisses his inhumane actions towards his inferiors as within the pursuit of God-given glory.
Football creates a unique scene for a horror film as it is chock-full of elements that are ripe for grisly interpretation. The film draws on images of bodies crashing into each other, skulls cracking and steroid injections. This, coupled with the use of x-ray and UV scans kept viewers on their toes with interesting visuals and a new take on body horror.
“Him” is an overt allegory for the professional sports industry as a whole, using the narrative to explore themes of religion, pressure, masculinity, racial politics and personal responsibility. Through elevated visuals, surreal hallucinations and over-the-top performances of masculinity, it delivers its central-question clearly: What would you do to be “Him?”
