“Him” is one of the most interesting movies I have seen this year, thus far. Even as I write this review, I cannot help but feel mixed on whether I love this movie or just think it’s mediocre. 

There’s a lot to love as not only a horror fan, but also as a creative media major. 

“Him” is the story of Cameron Cade (Tyriq Withers), a gifted quarterback, who starts to spiral after receiving a near career-ending concussion to the head. His second chance for glory comes from the opportunity to train under famous quarterback Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans), whom Cade’s late father had idolized. 

During the 7-day training, however, things get increasingly more violent and harrowing for Cade, as he starts to realize there’s more to White’s success than Cade may be willing to sacrifice.

This movie’s cinematography is incredibly jarring, in an effective way. There are many creative choices that I love, like showing people as x-rays when an injury occurs, or the jittery out-of-order shots that happen whenever Cade gets injected with drugs or drinks alcohol. My favorite shot has to be the transition from Cade lying down in an ice bath to him lying in bed. 

It’s good stuff.

The music is great, and some tracks are particularly chilling, which made me genuinely tense during some scenes (“The Combine” by Bobby Krlic is a particularly excellent track). But my favorite part of the whole movie is the religious imagery. From the constant cross necklaces to the mentions of God and Jesus, to even a recreation of “The Last Supper.”

The film has so much going for it in terms of visual style and music, but it does have one pretty critical flaw: the ending.

The whole ending, while still cool, feels incredibly rushed, spilling pretty much the second biggest twist of the movie in one piece of dialogue, as if they couldn’t figure out any other way to show/let you know what’s going on. 

SPOILER: The second twist of the movie is that Cade has been groomed from his youth to be a football star through some kind of ritual which gives him his gift for playing. 

How is this twist explained? 

The person who was Cade’s agent the entire time kind of just says it without any reason to, and it’s so jarring (in a non-effective way) that it takes you out of the movie.

There’s also just a weapon lying around that Cade is just able to pick up and use to slaughter all the people that were grooming him with little to no fight (outside of a guy with a sword who goes down fast, and Isaiah White’s wife who trips and stabs herself). 

For a group that seemingly has everything together, why did they fail so easily against one guy, and why were most of them unarmed when there were weapons around for Cade to use against them?

The movie ends with Cade leaving his “agent” behind to be sacrificed (I believe) while Cade walks off screen, having slaughtered everyone else. While this doesn’t completely ruin the movie, a bad ending can bring down the rest of the movie, and that’s sadly the case here.

“Him” is a fun movie that dives into careers in football and the hardships/abuses that plague from behind the scenes, while also being about the trauma of expectations that are put on people to be perfect, either from overbearing parents or religion. 

The visuals and music are outstanding, and outside of a pretty sour ending, it’s a really entertaining watch, and should definitely be given at least one viewing if you haven’t already.

Official Score: 7/10

Categories: Arts & Entertainment