The metaphor of “football as religion” takes a dark and strangely violent turn in Justin Tipping’s new film Him. Released Sept. 19 and produced by filmmaker Jordan Peele, Him is a cautionary tale about abandoning moral values in exchange for the fame and glory of success on the football field. With overt biblical themes and more gore than your average sports film, Him delivers an exciting and unusual take on the realities of hero worship in the arena of professional sports.
Cameron Cade, played by actor Tyriq Withers, is an up-and-coming college football star headed straight to the NFL until he suffers an unexpected violent attack, where he was hit over the head with an axe. Cade’s family, especially his recently deceased father, conditioned him to be a diehard fan of the fictitious San Antonio Savers football team. With the attack threatening to derail his big league career, Cade accepts an offer for a weeklong workout at the remote Texas home of the Saviors’ veteran star quarterback, Isaiah White. Played by a convincingly demonic Marlon Wayans, White’s impending retirement makes Cade hopeful that he may find an opportunity with the Saviors.
What follows is not your run-of-the-mill sports protégé story. While White puts Cade through his paces to establish his qualifications to lead the Saviors, something dark and sinister lurks around every corner, including a highly disturbing sauna scene that needs to be seen to be believed. White continuously tests and taunts Cade’s heartfelt values, belittling his longstanding relationship with his high school girlfriend and insisting that “greatness is surviving the death of the person you used to be.” The nihilism and amoral worldview White represents stands in stark contrast with Cade’s traditional Judeo-Christian morality and love for his family. Add an extremely ghoulish Julia Fox as White’s wife, Elsie, with her harem of scantily clad sirens, as an extra dose of temptation for Cade.
One of the first lessons White teaches Cade is his own personal creed: “Football, Family, God,” specifically in that order. As the story unfolds, it becomes increasingly clear that White has sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his athletic and financial success. Whether Cade will find that bargain an inordinately high price to pay is the evolving theme in the film.
In terms of the religious motifs employed by Director Justin Tipping, be prepared for a scene from DaVinci’s “The Last Supper” starring Cade as Jesus, a running theme of sacrifice alluding to the biblical crucifixion of Jesus on the cross, and more blood transfusions (think turning blood into wine) than most moviegoers are generally accustomed to.
In the end, when Cade’s pig-mask-wearing sports agent asks him what is the opposite of a savior, and Cade incorrectly guesses “a killer,” it is understood that that Cade has made a different choice than his idol, Isaiah White. Cade rejects the notion that being a savior requires sacrificing deeply-held moral principles; it’s simply a poor bargain to sell your soul for success and adulation. And obviously, as Cade’s agent tells him in the final analysis, the opposite of a savior isn’t a killer, it’s… a mascot, one who cheers from the sidelines but has no actual skin in the game.
Moreover, the ensemble cast for Him is perfect. Withers, the actor who plays Cameron Cade, played for the Florida State University Seminoles’ football team as a wide receiver while completing his undergraduate degree. From his explosive speed to his ball-handling and passing skills, his performance perfectly encapsulated his character’s raw and apparent talent. Casting a marginally more well-known actor over Withers would not have been effective, as such a performance would have felt contrived. Cade’s character needed to be played by an actor just as athletically elite as he is, a void Withers perfectly fills.
Similarly, Wayans imbues his character, Isaiah White, with an almost psychopathic ambition to excel as an athlete. At every turn in Cade’s journey, White is there to antagonize, confuse, and belittle him. While his motivations for doing this become more obvious as the story progresses, Wayans perfectly molds his character to be as menacing as possible, especially in moments where the viewer cannot deduce his true intentions. Coupled with several psychedelic cinematographic shots, viewers never know what to expect as the movie devolves into madness in the last fifteen minutes.
One of the few aspects the movie lacks is that the movie does not invoke the fear that horror movies usually do. Usually, anything with Peele’s name on it is sure to deliver chills to the audience, but since Peele was only a producer, he couldn’t incorporate it into the film. This was in no fault of the actors; it was just a piece missing from the plot that could have magnified the film’s creepiness.
With its creativity and unique exploration of sports and morality themes, Him excels in carefully interweaving religion and sports into a remarkable cinematic experience. While the jumpscares are not necessarily as terrifying compared to other Jordan Peele productions, Him is a solid 4.5 out of five feathers.
