The following review is for a film rated R by the MPA. The film contains excessive profanity, blood and visceral gore, graphic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, children in peril, and implied sexual acts.
With a very eye-catching marketing campaign, Him, directed by Justin Tipping and produced by Jordan Peele’s Monkey Paw Studios, has been hyped up to be on the same level as Peele’s own movies like Get Out and Nope. Unfortunately, the movie fails to live up to the hype due to various issues, but the film is still enjoyable and memorable thanks to amazing performances from the stars of the film, Marlon Wayans and Tyriq Withers.
The story of this movie focuses on Cameron Cade (Withers), an up-and-coming football star who, after facing a traumatic head injury, goes to train with his hero and football legend Isaiah White (Wayans) and learns the sacrifices needed for greatness. But in true horror movie fashion, these sacrifices turn out to be less the pushing-oneself-to-the-limit type and more the bloody-animal-on-an-altar type (as hinted at by the film’s original title, The GOAT).
Unfortunately, the pacing of this movie makes it so the story is delivered at a breakneck speed to the audience, causing the whole experience to be disorienting. There are multiple moments that will be very memorable, but the scenes going into these moments feel like they are struggling to connect with each other. It seems like the movie would have benefited from just a longer run time.
The acting in this film is generally great, and all the cast brings a level of passion into their roles that makes the emotional scenes hit harder. It seems like Marlon Wayans was able to find himself in Issac White and bring an energy to him that makes the character iconic. With him even having this to say about it: “I jumped into this murky pool to go find Isaiah White, and I looked up, and I saw Marlon Wayans after a long journey in this industry.”
Another great thing about this film is the cinematography. There are so many shots in this film; it is just amazing to look at and helps capture the vibe of each scene perfectly. A great example of this is all the hallucination scenes, because they are able to make the audience feel as disoriented as the main character.
There are also many great songs in the soundtrack that help amplify the enjoyability of the film as well. None of the songs felt out of place in the context of the scene they appear in, making it so they merge easily with the film.
Due to the film being so massively hyped up, it is likely that many people will go into it expecting a Jordan Peele-level masterpiece. However, the film is quite enjoyable if watched for what it is and not what it could be. This film is great for anybody that wants to watch a horror film revolving around the sports industry or anybody who can look past some of the problems in the story.
