Him (dir. Justin Tipping)

By: Tarek Fayoumi

It is the start of the football season, and Justin Tipping (Kicks, Get Black Monday) decides to step-up his directing game with a sports thriller. Him is a  psychological thriller with a wild and crazy imagination. On one hand, the film is about  fame, and on  the other, survival. The two lines run parallel  in  Him. Being a pro football player is presented as a dream, and \ Tipping creates one’s dream to be an irreparable nightmare. The presentation continues to fall into a psychological  pattern. As egos topple over suspenseful situations  that become an athletic training film  like no other.

Him focuses on Cameron Cade and he is played by Tyriq Withers (Atlanta, Tell Me Lies). Cade, a rookie quarterback  is  given the opportunity to train with champion and veteran quarterback Isaiah White, played by  Marlon Wayans (On the Rocks, Air). With Cameron focused on becoming a  pro player, he feels this is his dream is close to coming true. However, once he steps foot into Isaiah’s home, there are haunting aspects that may be more disturbing than Cameron has anticipated. His head may be in the game to learn from his mentor, but he does not realize how dangerous the football camp is.

For Tipping, he oversteps the boundaries of sports and mayhem. It is exhilarating in some moments, but in others Him devolves into an  overwhelming slog of strobe-like effects. While I did expect technology of that nature in Him, its use prevents the film from ever feeling like anything more than mesmerizing.  Tipping provides the enemies a form of ambience of purpose. Competition with violence and desperation for success do not tango well with Him. It is presented in the setting of a cult that is disturbing. There are many trial and error moments, leaving Tipping’s film feeling like a blur. Him relies a lot more on star power than it does  suspense to engage its audiences. This is a thriller where there is more  enjoyment found in the  twisted fun of watching events unfold than in Him than any actual emotional responses like shock or mortification..

Target Score 5/10- Him keeps up its craziness with football legend vibes going boldly. That is because the star powered dynamics are all around wild throughout the whole film. But the writing is a mess. The direction to become an all-star with life or death scenarios has a strange direction. Ultimately, so much of it relies on the presence of Marlon Wayans as the emperor, and Tyriq Withers as his apprentice. A duo that needs improvement in characterizations.