An ambitious new horror-thriller, Him, dives into the religious fervor that surrounds American football. Directed by Justin Tipping and produced by Jordan Peele, the Universal Pictures release uses a dark, satirical lens to critique quarterback hero worship. The film runs 96 minutes and is rated R for strong bloody violence, language throughout, sexual material, nudity and some drug use. Critics were mixed on the delivery, with ABC News Entertainment describing it as fumbling a potent premise and awarding it one-and-a-half stars out of four.
Cameron “Cam” Cade, played by Tyriq Withers, grows up idolizing Isaiah White, portrayed by Marlon Wayans, a legendary quarterback whose career-defining moment ends in a brutal injury. On the cusp of entering the NFL, Cam is drawn into a strange ordeal when a shadowy pagan spirit-slash-mascot emerges during a late-night practice. The Saviors reach out to Cam’s agent, played by Tim Heidecker, offering a chance: come to Isaiah’s desert compound in Texas for a week of training with the former star so the group can decide whether Cam will be drafted. What follows is less a boot camp than a disorienting psychodrama — a football ayahuasca — in which Isaiah pushes Cam to extremes to test whether he has what it takes to be the GOAT. The setting is Isaiah’s Brutalist estate, where the surreal mood and hallucinatory editing push the story toward allegory rather than a conventional thriller.
Cam endures injections of unknown serums, blood transfusions and brutal pocket drills as the line between sport and ritual blurs. The film insists this is not a game, a point it repeats to emphasize the stakes. In the cast, Julia Fox plays Isaiah’s influencer wife, a character who appears in the margins of the action while the larger football world—arenas, fans and broadcasters—looms outside the frame but never fully enters. The review notes that the movie channels a Monkeypaw style while never fully escaping a claustrophobic chamber of a haunted house in which the central question remains: can a quarterback become the greatest if the sport demands more than skill? The tone and style resemble a Gladiator-like saga stripped of the Coliseum, a paradox that critics say undercuts the film’s satirical aims.
Ultimately, the review found that Him has a provocative premise but delivers a single-minded argument that grows repetitive. It offers enough style to satisfy some horror-thriller fans and those interested in sports culture, but its narrow focus limits the reach of its critique. Universal Pictures released the film in theaters; it is rated R for strong bloody violence, language throughout, sexual material, nudity and some drug use. The running time is 96 minutes and the lead performances from Withers and Wayans hold attention even as the narrative keeps circling back to its central idea.
The film’s premise casts a sharp light on how modern sports culture can elevate a quarterback into a quasi-messianic figure, a theme that resonates with longtime fans who recognize both the appeal and the danger of that worship. Yet the execution here leans into a stylized, claustrophobic mood that may challenge viewers seeking a more expansive satirical reach. Fans of experimental horror-thrillers might find value in the mood and the premise, while others may sense that the film’s strongest idea outpaces its storytelling.