him movie review

HIM (2025) is a brutal, stylish football horror-thriller that mixes concussion anxiety, sports obsession, and cult-like fanaticism into a very dark character study rather than a conventional sports movie. It hits hard in its performances and atmosphere, but the third act turns divisive and over-the- top, so mileage will depend on how much chaos a viewer is willing to embrace.

Quick Scoop

• Genre & vibe: Elevated horror / psychological thriller wrapped in a sports story about a young quarterback invited to train with his idol at a remote desert compound, where “motivation” slowly morphs into manipulation, violence, and cult energy.

• Core theme : Toxic definitions of masculinity, the price of greatness, and how football culture normalizes bodily sacrifice and mental damage in the name of winning.

• Best part : Performances by Tyriq Withers as ambitious QB Cameron Cade and Marlon Wayans as legendary GOAT Isaiah White; both sell the mentor–protégé relationship turning predatory and unhinged.

• Weak spot : A final stretch that leans into surreal ultraviolence and occult imagery, losing some of the tight psychological tension that made the earlier sections so effective.

• Bottom line : Strong if you like Jordan-Peele-adjacent social horror and can handle graphic violence and morally bleak turns; frustrating if you want grounded realism or a clean, tidy ending.

Plot & Tone (Spoiler-Light)

The story follows Cameron “Cam” Cade, a college football star with pro-level potential who suffers a serious head injury after being attacked by a costumed figure just as his NFL dreams are within reach. When his future looks ruined, he is invited to the desert estate of his childhood hero, eight-time championship quarterback Isaiah White, to “prove” he can become the next great.

What starts as an intense training opportunity becomes psychological warfare: bizarre drills, cultish fans, and power games that blur mentorship, abuse, and ritual. The tone is grim , often nightmarish, mixing sports-film structure with horror pacing and a steady undercurrent of dread around brain trauma and exploitation.

Performances & Characters

• Cameron Cade (Tyriq Withers) : Plays Cam as hungry, insecure, and slowly unraveling under pressure, which makes the descent into paranoia and violence feel emotionally credible even when the plot goes big.

• Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans) : A career-highlight turn—he plays Isaiah as both charismatic and terrifying, a living embodiment of the “win at all costs” mentality who has internalized being the GOAT to a monstrous degree.

• Supporting roles : Agents, trainers, and fanatics orbit the duo, from an intense trainer to rabid super-fans, all emphasizing how many people profit from Cam’s body and mind while insisting it is “for his own good.”

The dynamic between Cam and Isaiah is the movie’s engine —a twisted mentor–student relationship where admiration becomes a weapon. Their scenes together carry most of the film’s tension and thematic weight.

Themes: Masculinity, Violence, and the “GOAT”

The film is explicit about how football culture treats sacrifice as proof of manhood: Cam’s father praises players who ruin their bodies for glory, and the story keeps returning to the idea that “real men” ignore pain and conscience. Concussions, brain damage, and the pressure to perform become literal horror devices, with visual flourishes (like stylized x-ray shots) underscoring what hits are doing to Cam from the inside.

It also digs into:

• Idol worship : Fans and owners treat Isaiah like a demigod, blurring the line between sports fandom and cult behavior.

• Power and exploitation : Contracts, training, and “opportunities” are framed as traps; everyone around Cam benefits if he keeps pushing himself past the breaking point.

• Identity : Cam’s “I’m him” confidence slowly mutates into a question: who is he if he stops playing, and what kind of person must he become to survive in Isaiah’s world?

Style, Horror, and That Wild Third Act

Visually, the movie leans into sleek digital cinematography and an electronic score that pushes it closer to surreal nightmare than grounded sports drama. Training sequences feel like ritualistic hazing, and the isolated compound becomes almost like a horror maze filled with masked figures, ominous symbols, and increasingly sadistic “tests.”

Most reactions agree:

• The first act : Tight, compelling setup that blends sports, family expectation, and injury anxiety extremely well.

• The second act : Still strong, with plenty of tension and character work, though some scenes start to feel stylized and odd.

• The third act : A “3rd act disaster” for some—violent, occult-tinged, and chaotic, pushing events into full-blown bloodbath and supernatural suggestion.

If you enjoy horror that suddenly goes operatic and deranged, the finale can be thrilling and thematically apt; if you prefer subtlety and realism, it may feel like the movie abandons its best ideas for shock.

Mini Verdict: Should You Watch HIM?

• Watch it if you like:
  • Social horror about sports, race, masculinity, and the cost of greatness.

* Performances-driven thrillers with toxic mentor–protégé relationships.

* Jordan Peele-adjacent projects where genre is used to critique American institutions.

• Skip or be cautious if you:
  • Are sensitive to depictions of head trauma, graphic violence, and psychological abuse.

* Want a grounded sports drama or a clean, logically tidy resolution rather than a messy, symbolic climax.

Meta description (SEO-style) :
HIM (2025) movie review – a dark, Jordan Peele-produced football horror about a rising quarterback, his GOAT idol, and the terrifying cost of greatness, with intense performances and a controversial third act.

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