Rotten Tomatoes Reviews Sack Football Horror Thriller ‘HIM’
Marlon Wayans in “HIM.”
Universal Pictures
HIM, a football-themed horror thriller from Get Out Oscar winner Jordan Peele starring Marlon Wayans and Tyriq Withers, is getting spiked by Rotten Tomatoes critics.
Produced by Peele and directed by Justin Tipping, HIM opens in theaters nationwide on Friday. The official summary for the film reads, “HIM stars former college wide receiver Withers (Atlanta, I Know What You Did Last Summer) as Cameron Cade, a rising-star quarterback who has devoted his life, and identity, to football. On the eve of professional football’s annual scouting Combine, Cam is attacked by an unhinged fan and suffers a potentially career-ending brain trauma.
“Just when all seems lost, Cam receives a lifeline when his hero, Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans), a legendary eight-time championship quarterback and cultural megastar, offers to train Cam at Isaiah’s isolated compound that he shares with his celebrity influencer wife, Elsie White (Julia Fox). But as Cam’s training accelerates, Isaiah’s charisma begins to curdle into something darker, sending his protégé down a disorienting rabbit hole that may cost him more than he ever bargained for.”
Rated R, HIM is written by Zack Akers & Skip Bronkie and Tipping, and also stars Tim Heidecker, Jim Jefferies, MMA heavyweight fighter Maurice Greene and hip hop stars Guapdad 4000 and Tierra Whack.
As of Friday, HIM has earned a 29% “rotten” rating from Rotten Tomatoes critics based on 92 reviews, while audiences have given the film a 58% “rotten” Popcornmeter score on RT based on 100-plus verified user ratings.
The RT Critics Consensus and audience summary are still pending.
What Are Individual Critics Saying About ‘HIM’?
David Ehrlich of IndieWire is among the top critics on RT who gives HIM a “rotten” review, writing in his review summary, “HIM knows that it’s silly as hell, but it has no idea how to balance that against the ostensible seriousness of its social critique, which is how you wind up with leaden dialogue sandwiched between moments of broad satire.
Amy Nicholson of the Los Angeles Times gives HIM a “rotten” review on RT, but admits to being wowed by certain aspects of the filmmaking, writing, “It wants to be The Substance with jockstraps: a Satanic-tinged, steroidal Rosemary’s Baby. The film is so stylishly done that I could accept it on those plain terms. Every shot is a stunner.”
Elsewhere on RT, Nick Schager of The Daily Beast calls HIM “a B-movie of unholy bombast and absurdity,” while Robert Daniels of RogerEbert.com writes, “I can’t believe I left the house to see HIM.” Odie Henderson of the Boston Globe also gives HIM a “rotten” rating on RT, writing, “Somebody should have told the filmmakers that a football spinning on the ground is only terrifying to the team that fumbled it.”
Peter Debruge of Variety is among the top critics on RT who gives HIM a “fresh” review, writing, “Amid the thrills, HIM gets you thinking about the sport and all that it demands, potentially making monsters of our heroes in the process. But as the saying goes: Don’t hate the player, hate the game.”
Kristy Puchko of Mashable also gives the film a “fresh” rating with some reservations on RT, writing, “HIM is a mixed bag, offering rich performances, unnerving scares — especially one involving a sauna — and food for thought in terms of sport, race, religion, and masculinity.”
Randy Myers of the San Jose Mercury News, meanwhile, raves about HIM on RT, writing, “Every part of it — the killer soundtrack, surreal cinematography, gladiator-esque production design, carefully curated outfits and training gear selected by costume designer Dominique Dawson, a Vallejo native – elevates [Justin] Tipping’s Grand Guignol vision.
HIM is opening in theaters nationwide on Friday.