Movie: Him (2025)
Production Companies: Monkeypaw Productions
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Producer(s): Jordan Peele, Win Rosenfeld, Ian Cooper, Jamal Watson
Directed by: Justin Tipping
Written by: Justin Tipping, Skip Bronkie, Zack Akers
Starring: Tyriq Withers, Marlon Wayans, Julia Fox, Jim Jeffries, Tim Heidecker
Review by: Cam Wiggs

“Elevated Horror” is a term that has been making the rounds in online film circles for the last 5 to 10 years. If you’re someone who lives and breathes film, you may even be growing a bit tired of the term. Essentially, Elevated Horror is a subgenre of Horror that blends traditional horror elements with deep, emotional theming and an arthouse filmmaking approach. These types of movies started to pop up in the mid-Twenty Teens with films like It Follows (2014) and The Witch (2015) leading the way, but their popularity peaked a few years later with films like Get Out (2017), Hereditary (2018), Suspiria (2018), Midsommar (2019), and more. Now, so-called elevated horror films are common on the release schedule every single year. Just this year we’ve already had a ton of excellent entries into the genre with Weapons, 28 Years Later, Bring Her Back, and more.

This trend has broadened the appeal of Horror, making these films very popular within major movie studios. As such, those filmmakers with the proclivity for creating these low-budget, high-box office horror masterpieces have achieved mythical status in the eyes of Hollywood’s biggest movie houses. There is perhaps no better example than Jordan Peele, someone I refer to as the Godfather of Elevated Horror. No director has churned out more critically-acclaimed, commercially successful elevated horror films than Peele. If Jordan Peele makes it, it’s as good as gold.

For the last 5+ years, Jordan Peele and his company Monkeypaw Productions have been making films for Universal Pictures, both those written and directed by Peele himself as well as those projects funded by Monkeypaw Productions, like Nia DaCosta’s Candyman (2022) (which I loved!). And that exact arrangement is what brings us the subject of today’s review: Him.

Directed by Justin Tipping, Him tells the story of Cameron Cade (Tyriq Withers), an elite Quarterback prospect and surefire first-round pick whose lifelong dream of playing in the USFF (the film’s legally-approved NFL knockoff) is soon to become a reality. After a bizarre injury and his resulting poor performance at the combine, however, Cameron Cade sees his dream slipping through his fingers. That’s when he receives a hail mary in the form of an invitation from the GOAT himself, Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans), who asks Cade to come work out with him for a week to prove he could be a worthy successor as White eyes retirement. Despite jumping at the chance to train with his idol, it doesn’t take long for Cameron Cade to realize this football retreat may not be what it seemed.

Based on that description, you may be thinking what I was thinking seeing all the promotional material for this film: “What an interesting, Jordan Peele-esque concept for a movie” (or something like that). On the surface, this feels like the exact kind of original and thought-provoking subject matter Peele’s films often explore. Before I even saw it, I envisioned the filmmakers exploring rich themes like male shame, clout culture, celebrity worship, toxic masculinity, greed, and so many more. I thought this was sure to be a slam dun- er, I mean, touchdown.

But don’t be fooled! As much as the folks at Universal Pictures would like for you to think it, this is NOT a Jordan Peele movie. Tipping and the writers of the film opt for exploring nothing beyond surface-level, common sense concepts. This makes for one of the most frustrating movie watching experiences in recent memory. There are so many places to take this concept but this film simply picks around the edges instead of diving in and making this artistic endeavor worthwhile.

This lack of coherence and general intrigue comes from a complete lack of confidence. Beyond the meandering story and themes, this lack of confidence also appears in the horror set pieces. Rather than allowing the story to slowly build tension, Tipping and company jump right into the cringeworthy attempts at scares. They are essentially forced to rely heavily on jump scares and shock factor since their story is not anchored to anything deeper making it impossible to inspire real fear and dread. Instead, each set piece gets more and more ridiculous, taking the film from silly to downright embarrassing.

The performances don’t do this movie any favors either, particularly our two leads. Tyriq Withers is a hollow and unappealing victim and Marlon Wayans’ – who clearly thought this was his chance to cash in his comedic chops for a dramatic turn à la Adam Sandler or Steve Carrell – overacting makes the whole film feel even more shallow and disingenuous.

Once you package all that together, this movie reveals what it really is: a desperate attempt at achieving elevated horror status without the slightest bit of conviction or vision. It’s a horror movie that’s not scary. It’s a satire that’s has nothing to say. So, it’s utterly pointless and one of the most disappointing releases of the year.

3.0/10

By: Cam Wiggs