The movie Him was released on Sept. 19. Though I knew the film was supposed to be a horror movie, I really didn’t expect it to be executed so unevenly. It had an interesting idea, mixing the world of football with psychological horror, but the execution didn’t always work. Some moments really hit, but others just felt off and confusing. Let’s talk Him.
The film follows Cameron Cade, a rising star quarterback whose life changes after a violent attack by an obsessed fan leaves his career hanging by a thread. When a legendary player, Isaiah White, offers to train him, the story shifts from sports drama to something darker: part psychological horror, part social commentary on football culture.
Even as someone who doesn’t really understand or follow football, I didn’t feel lost. The movie does a solid job capturing the world of the sport: the pressure, the obsession with greatness, and the physical toll players endure. It’s less about learning the rules of the game and more about seeing what happens when a person is pushed past their mental and physical limits. I walked in thinking it would mainly focus on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and other health problems tied to football’s intensity—which it sort of did—but it ended up being a bigger reflection on what football demands from its players and what they’re willing to sacrifice, as Isaiah says in the film.
The horror elements are mixed. Some moments genuinely got under my skin, especially when Cameron’s thoughts start to spiral and reality begins to blur. But other times, the movie’s attempts at shock felt misplaced. For example, there’s a scene involving a sharpened football that’s clearly supposed to be disturbing, but the over-the-top blood made it almost funny instead of frightening. The same goes for a sauna scene where die-hard fans get killed by Isaiah; it just didn’t fit the tone.
Not only that, but there were also several moments where I couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t. That could have been a stylistic choice, but it wasn’t clear. Early on, when Tyriq gets hit in the head by a monster-like figure, I thought it was part of the “real” storyline. There was a scar from it, but no indication that it had actually been from the monster. I left the theater still not sure if it had actually happened or not. That confusion happened more than once, and while it might have been intentional, it sometimes made the story feel messy instead of mysterious.
The acting was decent overall. The main actor who played Cameron carried most of the emotional weight, showing a believable shift from confidence to fear to obsession. Marlon Wayans as Isaiah White was less convincing. In serious scenes, his performance sometimes came off as unintentionally comedic. This might be a bias on my part because I’ve seen him in other projects where his character is meant to be comedic, but I think, knowing his history, that Wayans could have worked harder to really embody this character.
Elsie, Isaiah’s wife, also got a surprising amount of screen time, especially near the end, when the story leaned into demonic themes. Her role felt important but under-explained. If the film meant to highlight the role or influence of women in football players’ lives, that message wasn’t easy to pick up on.
The music was one of the highlights for me. It blended newer tracks with older ones, and when “Lemonade” by Gucci Mane started playing, the whole scene came alive. I was definitely into it.
Going in, I had high hopes because of the movie’s producer, Jordan Peele. But this didn’t feel like a typical Peele project. The psychological horror wasn’t as sharp or layered as what I’ve seen from his other work, and I couldn’t help but think it might’ve been stronger if he’d taken a bigger creative role.
Overall, Him is an interesting mix of sports drama and psychological horror, but it didn’t fully stick the landing. Although it raises good questions about fame, pressure, and identity, it sometimes gets lost in its attempt to scare the viewer. Still, it’s worth watching if you like eerie sports stories or just want to see an attractive quarterback lose his mind a little.
