Jordan Peele’s production credits carry weight, especially in horror. That’s why all eyes were on HIM, the new football thriller directed by Justin Tipping and starring Marlon Wayans.
But the film’s debut hasn’t exactly lived up to the buzz. As of this writing, Rotten Tomatoes currently lists it at 36% on the Tomatometer from 81 critic reviews, while audiences have responded slightly better, giving it a 60% score on the Popcornmeter based on more than 100 ratings.
Part of the reason for the split could be the rollout. The film didn’t screen widely for critics before opening on September 17, so reviews trickled in alongside audience reactions.
The story follows Cameron Cade (Tyriq Withers), a young quarterback determined to become the greatest ever to play the game. His idol, Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans), is an aging legend of the San Antonio Saviors, sidelined by a brutal injury and facing the end of his career.
When Cade suffers a vicious head injury during practice, White invites him to his isolated desert compound for an unconventional training program. Instead of standard drills, Cade faces surreal rituals, blood transfusions, and twisted psychological games that blur the line between sport and sacrifice.
The film’s marketing leaned into this, depicting White as a Christ-like figure under the tagline, “Greatness demands sacrifices.”
Critics have been split on whether that ambition paid off. Pete Hammond of Deadline argued that Tipping “fails to run up any numbers on the scoreboard,” saying the film substitutes quick cuts and heavy-handed horror tropes for meaningful satire. He did, however, highlight Wayans’s performance, calling him the strongest part of the film for playing the role with authority and mystery.
Peter Debruge at Variety offered a more nuanced take, describing HIM as an “elevated horror movie set in the world of professional sports” that turns football into an occult-like spectacle. He noted that the film uses body horror, hallucinatory sequences, and surreal visuals to explore themes of sacrifice, masculinity, and the dark costs of chasing greatness.
While reviews are mixed, both critics agree that the film is ambitious in scope, tackling football culture through a horror lens rarely seen on screen.
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