Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions has never been shy about blending genre thrills with biting social commentary. With Him (2025), directed by Justin Tipping, the formula takes us into the brutal, idol-worshipping world of American football — a place where body, mind, and soul are tested in equal measure. On paper, it’s a daring fusion: part sports drama, part psychological horror, part occult parable. On screen, the results are as fascinating as they are frustrating.
Him 2025 Review – A Bold Idea Struggling to Find Its Form
The film follows college quarterback Cam Cade (Tyriq Withers) as he enters a shadowy training program led by a messianic coach figure. Along the way, he encounters eerie rituals, hallucinatory visions, and a system that treats athletes less like humans and more like sacrificial gods. Marlon Wayans surprises as Isaiah White, an older mentor whose own body bears the scars of the game.
Where Him excels is in its atmosphere. The cinematography is drenched in unsettling imagery — helmets resemble sacred relics, locker rooms feel like chapels, and the roar of the stadium becomes a hymn of devotion. These moments capture exactly what the film is trying to say: in America, football is a religion, and its players are saints and martyrs rolled into one.
Watch the HIM (2025) – Behind the Scenes
Yet for all its visual power, the narrative often wobbles. Themes of faith, sacrifice, and commodification clash with underdeveloped characters and a storyline that feels rushed at just 96 minutes. The horror elements — body contortions, occult rites, surreal visions — land in flashes, but they never quite cohere into a truly terrifying whole. The climax, meant to tie together all the metaphors, instead feels abrupt, leaving audiences with more questions than answers.
The Verdict
As an experiment, Him deserves credit. It swings for the fences, aiming to do for football what Get Out did for suburban microaggressions: reframe the familiar through a horror lens. But ambition doesn’t always equal execution. For many viewers, Him will feel like a provocative but uneven sermon — one that dazzles with imagery but struggles to deliver a fully satisfying message.
Still, Peele’s influence ensures the conversation around Him won’t die quickly. Whether you find it messy genius or misguided allegory, this is a film you’ll want to talk about after the credits roll.
