Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions has given us some very cool projects outside of Peele’s own films. With Nia DaCosta’s Candyman remake and Dev Patel’s Monkey Man, a certain level of quality has been established when audiences see the Monkeypaw logo, and that hasn’t been tarnished yet in the way that say, Blumhouse has. Unfortunately, Monkeypaw has its first real stinker. Director Justin Tipping has made one movie prior to today’s film, 2016’s little-seen but well-received indie Kicks. And today’s film, the sports-themed horror flick Him, will be the first time a lot of audiences will see his work, and because this is a Monkeypaw film, they’ll think it was directed by Jordan Peele. This might be bad for the brand altogether. 

Him follows Cam Cade (Tyriq Withers), an up-and-coming football player who has dreamt of fame and glory since he was a child. After a nearly career-ending injury, his dreams of becoming a professional football player are halted. He is invited to go to legendary quarterback Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans)’ secluded desert compound for a training boot camp. Weird things begin to happen when he gets there.

There is no shortage of style in Him, this movie looks great from start to finish. But that’s also kind of all it has going for it. The script is weak, the themes aren’t explored in any interesting or memorable ways, and perhaps worst of all, in referencing the many films it was inspired by, it keeps reminding the viewer of better films. Him wants to be Whiplash by way of The Substance. It wants to be a cautionary tale about the cost of fame and football as a religion, and once these themes are introduced, it quickly becomes clear that’s all this screenplay has, and the film isn’t really going to give you more. And of course we have the prerequisite everything-goes-batshit-crazy-and-who-cares-if-it-makes-any-sense third act, and the problem is the film never earns this. It’s a baffling experience, because there was so much promise here and so much Tippins could have done with this premise.

Tyriq Withers is a compelling screen presence – he nails the physicality and intensity of what this role is supposed to be. However, he’s kind of dead behind the eyes and there’s nothing to his character. And because he’s supposed to be the audience’s way into this weird world, the entire movie falls a bit flat. He’s mainly here to react to things and look horrified. The film is asking him to do a lot, and he doesn’t rise to the challenge. Really, Cam is more of an idea than an actual person, and because of that it’s difficult to really latch onto this character and care about where he ends up.

And maybe the whole thing would be elevated if Marlon Wayans’ performance was doing what it needed to. Wayans is obviously known for comedic projects, and I appreciate an actor going outside of his comfort zone, especially at this point in a career, but his presence is not commanding enough to really sell this character. I didn’t really buy him as this legendary football player who’s respected and feared equally, and maybe that’s the fault of the writing or Wayans himself, either is possible. Julia Fox shows up in a supporting role as Isaiah’s influencer wife, and she’s bringing some much-needed levity and camp to this role. Fox seems to understand what this movie actually is, or what it should be. And nobody else seems to be on the same page as her.

The filmmaking choices here are ambitious – like I said, there’s a ton of style. There’s a cool thing we do where you see x-ray images of football injuries as they’re happening, and that is very striking. However, the entire second half of this movie is edited together like the commercials during a football game, or a music video, to the point where sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s actually happening. We also frequently blur the line between what’s real and what’s a hallucination or, I guess ‘surrealism’. And then in the end we go into this crazy, heightened, bonkers finale, and it feels like the only reason we’re doing that is because other horror movies lately have done this. The script, written by Tipping alongside Zack Akers and Skip Bronkie, does not earn the level of nuttiness we eventually get to, and it feels like they weren’t sure how to actually end this story. 

At the heart of Him, there’s one or two bold, interesting ideas, and Justin Tipping fails to create an entire movie around them. You can tell there’s so much this film wants to say – about toxic masculinity, about the beast of fame, about ambition and the lengths a person will go to to make their goals a reality. It wants to comment on the American obsession with sports and the toxic nature of fan culture, but once the film says something about these things, it keeps repeating them over and over. Unfortunately, Him fails to live up to that brilliant trailer, and the expectations set by the Monkeypaw logo at the beginning. I’d be interested to see what Justin Tipping does next, there’s a lot of promise here. It would be nice to see him make a film that actually follows through on them.