Something You’ve Never Seen Before: A Review of “Him”

A person preparing to snap the football on a lit football field at night. “Him” is a dark movie about the dangers and sacrifices of football. (Photo Credits: Unsplash)

Jax Marsh, Staff Writer for The Powderhorn

SPOILERS AHEAD: But this movie is so unique, you have to see it for yourself

When you search up “Him Movie” on Google and click on the first IMDB link, you will see something you’ve likely never seen before. Just under the title on IMDB, the genres listed are “body horror, football, physiological horror, horror,” and “sport.” “Him” was the most confusing, disturbing, straight-up weird movie, and one of the few that attempted to combine horror and sport, but it was actually kind of good. None of the confusing plot points were ever resolved in my mind. It was just a strange movie. But the acting, the set design, and the dialogue were intriguing. The lead role, a former college football player, had impressive acting skills and played a convincing protagonist turned antagonist.

The story follows football quarterback Cameron “Cam” Cade, played by Tyriq Withers, as he attempts to rebound from a potential career-ending injury. This injury did not come from a football accident but from a masked assailant in a scary costume during a football game. After this injury, Cade is forced to make a decision: retire indefinitely or train with the previous “G.O.A.T” of football in this universe, former quarterback, Isaiah White, who is played by Marlon Wayans. Inspired by the death of his father, his former football coach, Cade chooses football and travels to train with White. 

The plot follows Cade’s week-long training journey with White, as it is marked by days titled: “fun,” “poise,” “leadership,” “resilience,” “vision,” and “sacrifice.” The director leaves the last day unlabeled on purpose to build suspense. This whole journey begins with stereotypical football training--- intense, yet nothing out of the ordinary. But, as the days progress, with the most intense activities on day 4, Cade is subjected to highly intense training, to the point where he actually kills a football player. From this day on, the movie dips into the psychological horror realm. This is where the movie gets confusing. 

Cade begins seeing almost otherworldly things, such as two people wearing footballs as heads led by a girl who is trying to kill him. This is also where the movie gets kind of weird, so buckle up. During the girl’s attempted murder of Cade, White comes to the rescue and kills the girl himself before anything could happen to Cade. But the next day, White claims that he has no memory of any girl from the previous night. Cade begins questioning himself if these things he is seeing are real or not. Meanwhile, this is all happening during the day titled “vision.” The use of the titled days helped a lot with the flow of the story and allowed me to understand it much better.

On the final day, White feels that Cade is ready to claim the title of “G.O.A.T”. White meets him in a room surrounded by old football jerseys and helmets, which White claims are the previous “G.O.A.T.”s. White also reveals that he has been infusing his own “G.O.A.T.” blood into Cade’s body, giving him the power of the “G.O.A.T.” These powers explain why he was able to kill another football player a few days ago. Cade is now forced to battle White to the death to claim the title of the “G.O.A.T.” Cade eventually beats White and goes on to walk out into the football stadium, where powerful owners of the NFL (National Football League) are waiting for him. They are wearing pig masks and surrounded by cheerleaders and a band who have completely covered up their faces. It is time for the grand finale, which is the most confusing part of the movie.

Cade walks out and stands in the middle of a circle where a ritual is meant to occur so that Cade can become the official “G.O.A.T.” However, Cade chooses not to become the “G.O.A.T.” and continue the never-ending cycle. He kills all of the powerful owners, and the ending shot is Cade walking away, battle-wounded and bloody, as the final owner is sacrificed to the gods. I enjoyed this part, as it greatly contributed to Cade’s character development and summed up who he was nicely, giving a positive tone to the end of a dark movie.

As the movie finished up, I wondered about the why of this movie. What was the purpose of a football horror movie? 

Usually, I’m able to pick up on the message of movies and books pretty easily, but I was so confused after seeing this movie that I wasn’t sure what to think. The movie does a great job of exaggerating the sacrifices that football players have to go through by comparing rituals to their sacrifices. This really touched me as someone who played football all the way up until high school. I love football, but I’ve always been terrified of getting hurt on the field. This scene really encapsulates that feeling, showing what happens when a player gives up everything in pursuit of the game. 

On another positive note, I thought the training scenes and events that White takes Cade through were realistic and interesting to watch. The acting in this movie was phenomenal. Wayans, who played Isiaiah White, did a particularly good job with facial expressions. He would give subtle hints that the audience could pick up on, which contributed to some foreshadowing aspects of the story. The movie itself, however, was definitely something I’ve never seen before.