Movie Scene: It’s all about HIM

COMING from the mind of ‘Kicks’ director Justin Tipping and executive producer Jordan Peele, ‘HIM’ is set in the macho world of American football and, as you’d expect with Peele involved, delves into that world through paranormality and psychological horror.

The film opens with a young boy watching his favourite player Isiah White (Marlon Wayans) win the Superbowl but then the player suffers what looks like a career-ending injury.

Fast forward a few years and said youngster Cam (Tyriq Withers) is on the verge of becoming the new quarterback with his favourite team, the San Antonio Saviours. Following an injury Cam gets the opportunity to spend a week training with a fully recovered White in his desert mansion to assess whether he is good enough to take over from his idol, who is on the verge of retirement.

‘HIM’ is a timely fable with elements of hero worship, race, ambition, and keeping hold of past glories, all weaved throughout the narrative and, for the most part, successfully. Anchored by two brilliant central performances, ‘HIM’ starts off quiet enough, with Cam dealing with the pressures of potential stardom before being whisked off to Isiah’s genuinely unsettling desert hideaway.

Over the space of the week, Cam is subjected to brutal training sessions, presided over by Isiah like a cackling Caligula, horrifying visions and strange high-school esque parties among many other things as the lines between reality and fiction blur.

Cam is constantly told that he can be the GOAT (goat motifs are heavily used to hammer home the idea). It’s trippy stuff, full of razor-sharp editing, zippy visual tricks including a brilliant use of x-rays, and quite a few disturbing moments like when a crazed Isiah fan breaks into the compound. Oh, and we also see a very liberal use of blood emphasising the horror elements at play.

There’s a never-proven urban myth that 1982’s ‘Poltergeist’ was directed, not by the credited Tobe Hooper, but by the film’s executive producer, one Steven Spielberg.

Now I don’t believe that for a second but if someone were to tell me that Peele was the driving force behind ‘HIM,’ I wouldn’t be surprised. I’m sure Tipping has a love for Peele’s ideas but there are numerous times when ‘HIM’ allows metaphor to overpower the narrative, ranging from ‘oh, that’s clever’ to ‘oh, that’s plainly obvious’ beating the viewer over the head; all very Jordan Peele so you can’t help but wonder about the extent of his creative output.

This all leads up to a Faustian pact finale that is brutal, gory and one which could be seen by some as a metaphor for Trump’s America and by others as an indictment of the hero worship bestowed by Americans on their sports stars and the untold riches on offer if you just sell your soul. It’s loud, it’s brash and sometimes a little to on-the-nose for my liking.

‘HIM’ has a raft of interesting ideas, resulting in a wild ride that is riveting but also overpowering. It’s all wrapped up in just over 90 minutes and not an experience you’ll forget in a hurry.