Him Parent Guide

Since he was a little boy watching the Super Bowl with his dad, Cameron Cade (Tyriq Withers) has believed he could be the greatest quarterback in the world. Years of determination and hard work have nearly proved him right, but a random attack during a late-night practice leaves him with a fractured skull just before the tryouts. It looks like Cam’s dream is dead – until he gets a call from his dream team, the San Antonio Saviors, inviting him to a week long training/tryout program with his football hero, quarterback Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans).

What at first seems to be the best opportunity of his life soon looks like a mistake. Isaiah has a quasi-religious approach to football, one that prioritizes success above life, limb, or love. Cam is willing to gut it out, but there’s more going on out at the remote training center than some toxic indoctrination. Shadowy figures, strange noises, and bizarre rituals soon have Cam questioning everything.

“Long on style and short on substance” is probably the quickest way to describe the film, but that’s not entirely accurate. There is plenty of substance, lots of bizarre religious imagery, and some genuinely good scares, but the film doesn’t seem to recognize the interesting elements of its own story. I feel like I spent half the movie watching one training montage after another, which was time that would have been better spent exploring the point of the film.

That nugget of potential isn’t enough to absolve the film of its larger problems for family audiences, and there are plenty of them. The bloody violence, occult themes, nudity, and heavy profanity stand out as suboptimal choices for younger or more squeamish audiences. Those with photosensitive conditions will want to note the long sequence of high-speed red and blue strobe lights. Take it from someone who tried – closing your eyes doesn’t shut out the effect.

It’s disappointing to see this production fumble so many interesting concepts, but if you’re willing to pan around in the silt for them then the film does have some interesting observations to offer – there’s just a lot more silt than you’d like. Maybe I’m biased by my general loathing of football in general, but the movie just spends too much time on the field and not enough time digging into the story. But that’s me. Maybe you like having an interesting horror film frequently interrupted by prolonged bench-press sessions. If so, Him might irritate you less than it irritates me.

About author

Keith Hawkes

Keith Hawkes graduated from Mount Royal University, Calgary, Canada with a degree in English and History. His interests are movies, American literature, science fiction, almost every kind of music, and museums. He enjoys criticizing films for fun - although he's okay with being paid for it.