Movie Review: HIM

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: September 19th, 2025 / 01:55 AM

Rating: R
Stars: Marlon Wayans, Tyriq Withers, Julia Fox, Tim Heidecker, Austin Pulliam
Writers: Zack Akers & Skip Bronkie and Justin Tipping
Director: Justin Tipping
Distributor: Universal
Release Date: September 19, 2025

The good news about HIM is that it is not what it first appears to be. Viewers who have seen the ad campaign or even watch the first section of the movie may understandably think this is one of those horror films where an older person uses supernatural means to install their soul into the body of an unsuspecting younger person.

This does not turn out to be what’s happening in HIM. The bad news is that what’s going on, while it is eventually explained, doesn’t make much sense initially and seems even less logical on post-movie reflection.

From the time Cameron Cade (played as a child by Austin Pulliam and as an adult by Tyriq Withers) is a little boy, his parents teach him to worship football, especially the Saviors team, and most of all, the Saviors’ enduring quarterback Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans).

By the time Cameron is grown and ready to go pro himself, White has won eight Superbowl championship rings, although rumor is that he may retire after this season. Cameron has hopes of becoming the Saviors’ new quarterback (assuming White really does retire), but these may be derailed after he receives a traumatic brain injury.

Then Cameron’s agent (Tim Heidecker) phones with incredible news: the Saviors are still considering him. They want Cameron to spend a week at White’s secluded desert compound, where the veteran QB will train, advise and evaluate the up-and-comer.

At first, “Zay” is everything Cameron could hope for in an idol and a mentor. But by Day 2, practice sessions with other players get weird and that’s just the start.

Director Justin Tipping gets in some effective jump startles (jump scares may be overstating it) and adds some cool x-ray action, showing how the skeletons of people involved in a fight are impacted. Unfortunately, this doesn’t translate to impact on the plot.

The screenplay by Zack Akers & Skip Bronkie and Tipping clearly wants to say a lot about football, fame, competitiveness and much more, but the observations don’t land as they should.

Part of this is that many of their points state the obvious. It’s not news on any level that many high achievers, especially men who are powerful both physically and financially, can wind up with a god complex. It’s also not news that this power is often abused, albeit that the dramatization of this can be riveting when done right.

The filmmakers give us extreme behavior without sufficient explanation. This is perfectly acceptable punctuation in a horror movie, but not when it appears to be intended as part of a major statement about human nature.

Tipping creates a number of striking tableaus and images that stick with us. He is blessed with a performance of equal parts charm, anguish and ferocity from Wayans, who wholly inhabits his serious role.

Withers is fine, but he is directed to react minimally to events and situations that would have most people yelping in alarm. We get that Cameron is trying to display fearless machismo, and also that a realistic reaction would probably elicit laughs where none are wanted, but it stretches belief.

The more we learn about what’s occurring and why, the more questions we have. There are likewise some outright missteps, like depicting something as a casual acquaintance and then having someone risk their life over it.

HIM is trippy and worth seeing for some unique visuals. It is not, however, satisfying in storytelling or character terms.

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