Have you ever seen a football-horror film? I hadn’t until last week. Regardless of the review I’m about to give, we have to appreciate the creativity. From those who like scary movies to football fans, this type of movie has a wide appeal. I always try to care about football when the Superbowl comes around, but it doesn’t entertain me. For once in my life, I found myself intrigued by the most popular sport in America.
“HIM” was released toward the end of last month and is still being shown at Black Bear Cinemas. Tyriq Withers plays Cameron Cade, a talented quarterback who gets pulled into a nightmare in an attempt to live his dream of becoming a professional football star. Isaiah White, a retiring quarterback played by Marlon Wayans, serves as his evil mentor at a remote training facility.
Off the bat, Withers proves to be an excellent actor, perfectly fit for the lead role. I’ve only seen him in the show ‘Tell Me Lies,’ where he played an irrelevant side character. I hope the casting directors watch this movie and find more opportunities for him. I am not just saying this because Withers looks like a football player. Throughout the film, his emotion stood out, even in silence. You could almost hear his thoughts by just looking at his face. That’s pretty impressive.
The movie opens with Cameron training alone on the field. A football rolls to his feet and continues spinning for an obnoxious amount of time. This worried me because I did NOT want the plot to take a paranormal turn. Luckily, a human in a freaky costume appeared behind Withers and hit him over the head with a bat.
The attack left Cameron with a devastating concussion that put his career on the line. People were rooting for him, but unsure if he could live up to his pre-injury potential. Cameron experienced internal pressure to play, which is what his deceased father wanted, along with external pressure to avoid another hit to the head, which could be fatal.
Cameron received an offer to train at a facility with a legendary player, whom he was drafted to take over for. Immediately, the guy was slightly off-putting and cryptic, but friendly. Cameron had to sacrifice his phone and general peace for the training week. He was pushed to his physical limits each day… but that was the least of his worries.
There was a doctor at the facility who kept giving him these weird injections. I thought it was some sort of drug but the internet says it was the blood of Isaiah, contributing to a ritualistic theme. Each day of training had a different title: Fun, Poise, Leadership, Resilience, Vision and Sacrifice.
On one of these days, a random guy (maybe another player) gets punished for every catch missed. This puts pressure on Isaiah to throw perfectly and encourage others to perform well. However, the victim gets struck in the face multiple times to the point where he looks broken. He still gets up and celebrates, acting unphased.
Another day, Cameron is encouraged by Isaiah to be more aggressive in tackling. He goes up against multiple opponents in helmets but fails repeatedly. Isaiah insults him and pushes him to be better regardless of harm to others. At that, Cameron sprints at the guys and hits him so hard that he dies immediately. The men all cheer over his corpse.
The last significant death was the doctor who tried to warn Cameron to run. His head was on a platter at the welcome party. The climax of the movie was this vicious showdown between Cameron and Isaiah, basically fighting for the glory they both desire over all else.
While Cameron emerges victorious, he chooses not to join the evil team. He himself may have become evil though, because he brutally kills every single person on the field after refusing to sign on.
My roommate took notice of several biblical references throughout the movie. For example, when it came time to sign the contract, Cameron wore a white suit, while everyone else wore black at the welcome party, which implies purity. At the same event, he was told to drink this gauntlet of wine, similar to the blood of Christ tradition.
I enjoyed “HIM.” There was so much potential from the beginning. Unfortunately, I think the ending could have been stronger. An hour of build up led us to recognition of the cult and a violent kill scene, but I wish the meaning was stronger. Several small creative choices early on pointed to a more shocking and satisfying ending.
Overall Rating: 8/10
