Tim Heidecker

Him (2025): Prepare to Sacrifice Your Brain Cells While Watching This Football Horror Story

Posted on by Jack Drees

“Him” is directed by Justin Tipping and stars Marlon Wayans (Scary Movie, A Haunted House), Tyriq Withers (Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead, I Know What You Did Last Summer), Julia Fox (Uncut Gems, Presence), and Tim Heidecker (Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie, Us). This film is about an up-and-coming football player who trains under the wing of an eccentric quarterback in an isolated location.

When I look back at movies like “Bob Marley: One Love” and “Argylle,” my most prominent memory of those movies is not so much the movies themselves, but rather the fact that every other time I went to the cinema before those films came out, one of their respective trailers would play during the preshow. “Him,” while not as frequent as say “Bob Marley: One Love,” had a strong chance of meeting the same fate because the “Him” trailers have been attached to many preshows I’ve witnessed this summer. And, sadly, the trailers did not really do anything for me.

The marketing for “Him” lacked an oomph that made me go, “I need to see this now!” This film is produced by Jordan Peele. Again, read that closely. Produced. He did not direct it. As for the films he did direct, he aced all of them. I would be more excited about Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions being attached if it were not for the release of “Monkey Man” in 2024. That movie was not a complete disaster, but it was very much a case of style over substance and I wish it were better. Speaking of things I wish were better, “Him” is a dull waste of an hour and a half.

There are some positives regarding “Him.” The movie was made for $27 million, and there are select moments where the film maintains a polish that lives up to its budget. Everything from the lavish costuming to select characters’ detailed makeup to the otherworldly production design. It is tough to call “Him” the biggest technical standout of the year, but it nails its aesthetics for the entire runtime.

“Him” is basically a mishmash of “Whiplash” and “Ex Machina.” It combines several elements of these two movies, including themes revolving around ambition, sacrifice, and well being. The film is also set mostly at one isolated location and revolves around a connection between two somewhat similarly-minded gentlemen. But unlike “Whiplash” and “Ex Machina,” “Him” differentiates itself from the fact that it is nowhere near as compelling as those two films.

Also, instead of centering around music or technology, the movie primarily focuses on football. That is… When it chooses to focus on football. Honestly, if you are looking for football in “Him,” you are not going to get that much of it. Most of the football played in the movie is done during training sessions. So if you are watching this movie and expecting a big game on a field, look elsewhere.

That said, I do dig the filmmakers trying to give football a horror angle. Over the years, I have come to realize how dangerous of a sport football is. There’s constant tackles, incessant contact between players, and an alarming number of concussions. It is truly a scary sport.

To call “Him” a football movie is a bit of an exaggeration. Yes, the sport exists within the context of the film and plays a heavy role in it, but the film is not “about” the sport per se. In the case of “Him,” it is more about how football, or perhaps more accurately, one person’s passion for football, or anything else for that matter, affects behavior and ego. The film quickly establishes its protagonist’s dedication to the sport. The film has a solid opening scene where a young Cameron Cade is instilled with the idea that one person’s sacrifice makes them a man. He learns this from his father while they are watching football on TV together. The film seems to tap into themes regarding toxic masculinity, suggesting that real men need to toughen up even when they face their greatest pain.

While I am glad to point out Jordan Peele did not deliver his first directorial stinker, I unfortunately have to say I wish Justin Tipping stuck the landing a bit more. That said, this film does have a Jordan Peele-esque DNA in it. For all I know, Tipping could follow in Peele’s footsteps and deliver his “Get Out.” This is not that movie. The film feels like a “Twilight Zone” episode, and at times it works, but in others, it lacks engagement.

The film also has some parallels to religion. That seems to be the case in more ways than one. The film does not establish exactly what belief system Cade follows, but much like how Christians for example look up to their God, we see how much Cade looks up to his athletic idol, Isaiah White. Our protagonist is at one point told to avoid some of life’s greatest pleasures, like pornography or dating. There are more connections in the film, but they could be considered spoiler territory.

Speaking of Marlon Wayans, he was easily the highlight of the movie for me. Isaiah Thomas (left), while not perfect, has the DNA of a beautifully complicated character. Thomas is one of those characters who you really do not know if you can trust. Wayans somehow convincingly manages to shift from pure rage to genuine friendliness in as little time as possible. He gives the performance his all, but I wish the script, which director Tipping is partially credited in writing, did him favors.

Am I going to forget “Him?” To a certain degree, one can argue that I probably will. The film is not fantastic, but I also would not go as far as to say it is the year’s absolute worst picture. As a story, it had more to say than some other stinkers this year like “A Minecraft Movie” or “Jurassic World: Rebirth.” Although I wish it communicated its messages more effectively. The film has a terrific performance from Marlon Wayans, it looks top notch, and even if I did not enjoy every scene, I got the sense that everyone working on said scenes happened to be trying their best.

In the end, “Him” is no good. That said, it is not a total fumble. It has glimmers of good ideas, but there is nothing in this film that I can say was executed to their full potential. Marlon Wayans gives a killer performance. If there is a character that has been on my mind more than any other since watching this film for the first time, it is his. The film starts off somewhat promising, but quickly runs out of steam. I think Justin Tipping has a future in the movie business, but this film is not quite cutting it. I am going to give “Him” a 3/10.

“Him” is now playing in theaters and is available to rent or buy on VOD.

© Sony Pictures Classics

Thanks for reading this review! My next review is going to be for “Eleanor the Great!” Stay tuned! Also coming soon, look forward to my thoughts on “The Lost Bus,” “One Battle After Another,” “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” “Tron: Ares,” and “Bone Lake.” If you want to see these reviews and more from Scene Before, follow the blog either with an email or WordPress account! Also, check out the official Facebook page! I want to know, did you see “Him?” What did you think about it? Or, on the topic of “Ex Machina” and “Whiplash,” have you seen those movies? What do you think of those? Let me know down below! Scene Before is your click to the flicks!

Us (2019): This Is “Us”

Posted on by Jack Drees

mv5bztlinwjhm2ytndc1mc00ytk1lwe2mgytzme4m2y5oddlnzqzxkeyxkfqcgdeqxvymzy0mte3nzu40._v1_sy1000_cr006311000_al_

“Us” is directed by Jordan Peele (Get Out, Keanu) and stars Lupita Nyong’o (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, 12 Years A Slave) Winston Duke (Black Panther, Person of Interest), Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale, Mad Men), and Tim Heidecker (On Cinema, Decker) in film where a family takes a trip to Santa Cruz. While trying to enjoy their vacation, they eventually encounter doppelgangers of themselves. Once this happens, scares, hijinks, blood, and gore are all to be witnessed.

This movie is helmed by Jordan Peele, whose work I have been exposed to in the past, but I was never truly invested in him. In fact, I have still yet to see “Get Out.” Admittedly, I was debating on watching “Get Out” the day before I went to see this film in the theater since I own the 4K for it, but that ultimately did not happen. But I did manage to catch “Us” on its opening Friday in RPX, because it was better for me timing-wise, despite being pricier than a standard theatre, I figured maybe it would probably provide some enhancements in the scares, and I have never seen an RPX movie before, so I figured I might as well start now. There were definitely some enhancements to be had, but I don’t want to dive too deep into the experience itself, but as far as the movie goes, I was definitely impressed. But part of me wonders… was I impressed enough?

To me, I am beginning to wonder if Jordan Peele is going to be the next Alfred Hitchcock. It is a little hard to tell given how he hasn’t directed too many films, but based on the reception “Get Out” has previously gotten, plus the thoughts given thus far on “Us,” including my own, I am thinking that is definitely possible. Although that will ultimately depend if Peele decides to continue writing and directing for films, which direction he decides to take, and if he comes out with more films that are well received. Granted, this movie is not perfect, and while there is a part of me that is saying this film is f*cking amazing, there’s another part of me that is a tad disappointed by particular aspects.

“Us” by itself is a scary, thrilling, and intriguing horror flick. There are definitely scares to be had, and it is also very mindbending. Based on the box office (this movie set a record for original horror films), this movie definitely has gotten a hand of general audience members out of their homes and into the cinema, but regardless of which demographics go out and see “Us,” it kind of felt like something I’d watch in an art house at certain points. Granted, there are a lot of elements that add up to mainstream horror, and luckily, those elements don’t appear to be the oldest cheap tricks in the book. But I feel like this movie had a sense of flavor that it probably wouldn’t have gotten if it weren’t for Jordan Peele.

I don’t follow Jordan Peele all that much but when it comes to “Us,” I really felt something from him. Not emotionally speaking, but I felt that his work on the film was a contribution to something that didn’t feel like it came out of a studio. This movie was distributed by Universal, and I am willing to bet based on “Get Out’s” success, they probably told Peele he can make whatever kind of movie he wants. I mean, what other guy would create a scene in a movie that is supposed to be scary, and the background music happened to be NWA’s “F*ck the Police?” And to my surprise, it somehow worked!

Let’s talk about Lupita N’yongo in this film. I’ve seen her in a number of films before including the newer “Star Wars” installments, “Black Panther,” the 2016 adaptation of “The Jungle Book,” and while she has proven herself to be a decent performer in those films, they weren’t exactly fantastic. This is especially true when you compare these performances to the one she gave in “12 Years a Slave.” It’s a movie I don’t often watch, but having watched it, it’s hard not to recognize the absolute talent of N’yongo. Her performance in “Us” honestly is more on par with the performance she gave in a movie like “12 Years A Slave.” That may be an overstatement, but to me, it’s true. Again, going back to imperfections, just because I think the performance was really good, didn’t mean I thought there was a lack of error. After all, there is one part in particular that I found to be rather awkward in terms of dialogue delivery, which occurs around the first third of the film. But overall, this is one of the better performances I personally have witnessed from N’yongo.

I also admired some of the scenes with Winston Duke’s character because he manages to pull off the role of that crazy, hyperactive father who always wants to, I dunno, live life. There’s a scene where he makes his family watch him on a boat, exclaiming for joy. He is willing to speak up against his opponents, and he just has this charm to him that again, goes back to Peele’s excellent writing ability. Without Peele as the nucleus operating everything, this could be a decent movie, but I think it got an uplift just because Peele was here.

And I will point out once again, despite the well deserved box office records, despite the positive reception, despite everything about this movie that can associate with lying in a pile of gold with no worries, the film is ultimately imperfect. While there is a lot to like, the one thing that drags this film down just a tad is the way the ending plays out. While there are definitely worse endings out there, it kind of left me feeling icky. Not grossed out, in fact, this is a horror film we’re talking about, so if I felt grossed out that might actually be a compliment. When I say I feel icky I mean that I feel like I have just caught a cold or something. I don’t want to get into spoilers, in fact, not only did this movie just come out, but if you haven’t seen it already, I highly recommend you do, especially on a big movie screen like I did. While a lot of the climax plays out in a way I actually admire (in fact, the best part of the score is in that portion of the film), the part I don’t particularly enjoy comes in around the tail end. If they changed that, not only would the ending be better, but I’d probably consider this film a master work. I have faith in Jordan Peele however, he seems to present himself as a showman, and if he continues to make horror films, or a film in another genre for that matter, chances are I’d be willing to check it out. In fact, one of the biggest praises I can give to “Us” is that it got yours truly, one who has yet to see “Get Out,” to become more curious as to giving that film a shot in the near future.

In the end, when I saw “Us,” I thought it was the movie for me. Possibly even for you, y’all, them, he, she, and we. Jordan Peele has demonstrated here that he is more than a comedian, kind of like John Krasinski successfully managed to do with “A Quiet Place.” And these aren’t exactly my words, I don’t know who I first heard them from, but they are still pretty relevant. I feel like a reason why these two are making good horror films has a lot to do with timing. As a couple of people who know how comedy tends to work, they seem to know that timing is everything when it comes to joke delivery. It’s almost like they’ve applied those same principles when it comes to scaring people. So… Seth Rogen? Stephen Merchant? Seth MacFarlane? Where’s your horror movie? I’m not asking for one, but seriously, where’s your horror movie? I’m going to give “Us” an 8/10. Thanks for reading this review! As someone who considers every attempt possible to keep up with the latest news provided in the film industry, I have been thinking about discussing one of the heaviest topics in said industry during recent days. As some of you know, Disney finally completed their 21st Century Fox acquisition, and part of me wants to come on here and discuss it simply because I am rather worried for the direction of the film industry in the near future. If I don’t have time to do that within the next week, I could talk about something else, because as mentioned, I just saw “Us” in RPX, which marked my first time in one of those auditoriums, so if I cannot talk about Disney and Fox, I have my backup topic. Stay tuned for whatever I do in the future regarding content, maybe it’ll be something completely different, I don’t know! Be sure to follow Scene Before with an email or WordPress account if you haven’t already! I want to know, did you see “Us?” What did you think about it? Or, did you see “Get Out?” Which of the two films is superior? Let me know down below! Scene Before is your click to the flicks!