Listeners will be intrigued by the discussion surrounding the film's depiction of the extremes athletes endure, from hyperbaric chambers to experimental treatments, making the supernatural elements feel almost redundant. Chris and Jessica highlight Wayans' unexpected intensity, drawing parallels to Jordan Peele's successful transition from comedy to horror, while also noting the effective casting of Tyrek Withers as the rookie who transforms from starstruck to terrified.
The episode delves into the film's commentary on sports culture, examining how society dehumanizes athletes while idolizing them, and the hosts reflect on the brutal training sequences that mirror real-life pressures faced by professional athletes. They argue that the movie's missed opportunity lies in its failure to build tension through realism before introducing supernatural elements, which could have made the horror feel more organic.
Ultimately, *Him* serves as a cautionary tale about the dark side of sports and the challenges of blending genres. With a disappointing score of 3 out of 10, Chris and Jessica lament the film's inability to convey meaningful commentary on the real horrors lurking within professional sports, reminding listeners that sometimes the scariest stories are the ones rooted in reality.
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:01 Chris: Sports movies and horror films seem like
00:00:01 --> 00:00:04 complete opposites. But what happens when you
00:00:04 --> 00:00:07 combine an NFL legend's dark secrets with
00:00:07 --> 00:00:09 psychological terror? Today's film,
00:00:09 --> 00:00:12 him attempts to answer that question, though
00:00:12 --> 00:00:14 the results are more frightening than anyone
00:00:14 --> 00:00:15 intended.
00:00:15 --> 00:00:17 Jessica: That's such an interesting genre mashup to
00:00:17 --> 00:00:20 attempt. When I heard Marlon Wayans was
00:00:20 --> 00:00:22 cast as this sinister former quarterback, I
00:00:22 --> 00:00:24 was genuinely intrigued by how they'd pull it
00:00:24 --> 00:00:24 off.
00:00:26 --> 00:00:27 Chris: Well, on paper, it's, uh, a compelling
00:00:27 --> 00:00:29 premise. You've got this young football
00:00:29 --> 00:00:32 prospect, Cameron Cade, getting the
00:00:32 --> 00:00:34 opportunity of a lifetime to train with eight
00:00:34 --> 00:00:36 time champion Isaiah White. Think of it like
00:00:36 --> 00:00:39 Tom Brady offering to mentor a rookie. Except
00:00:39 --> 00:00:41 this mentorship comes with a side of
00:00:41 --> 00:00:43 psychological torture and mysterious blood
00:00:43 --> 00:00:44 injections.
00:00:44 --> 00:00:47 Jessica: The isolation aspect really stands out to me.
00:00:47 --> 00:00:49 Setting it in this remote compound where
00:00:49 --> 00:00:52 White lives with his influencer wife. It's
00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 reminiscent of how real athletes often live
00:00:54 --> 00:00:56 in these privilege bubbles cut off from
00:00:56 --> 00:00:57 normal society.
00:00:58 --> 00:01:01 Chris: You know what's fascinating? In real sports,
00:01:01 --> 00:01:03 we've seen athletes go to incredible
00:01:03 --> 00:01:05 extremeshyperbaric chambers,
00:01:06 --> 00:01:09 experimental treatments, bizarre dietary
00:01:09 --> 00:01:11 restrictions. The reality is often
00:01:11 --> 00:01:13 stranger than fiction, which makes the
00:01:13 --> 00:01:16 movie's supernatural elements feel almost
00:01:16 --> 00:01:17 unnecessary.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:21 Jessica: Hmm, that's actually a really good point
00:01:21 --> 00:01:24 about reality versus fiction. They could have
00:01:24 --> 00:01:26 drawn from actual sports scandals and still
00:01:26 --> 00:01:27 achieved their horror elements.
00:01:28 --> 00:01:30 Chris: Let's talk about Marlon Wayans for a moment,
00:01:30 --> 00:01:33 because his casting is genuinely inspired.
00:01:33 --> 00:01:36 He brings this unexpected intensity that
00:01:36 --> 00:01:38 makes you believe he could be this legendary
00:01:38 --> 00:01:40 quarterback hiding dark secrets.
00:01:40 --> 00:01:43 It's similar to how Jordan Peele successfully
00:01:43 --> 00:01:46 transitioned from comedy to horror. The
00:01:46 --> 00:01:48 Wyons is doing it as an actor rather than a
00:01:48 --> 00:01:49 director.
00:01:50 --> 00:01:52 Jessica: The casting of Tyrek Withers as Cam really
00:01:52 --> 00:01:54 works too. Uh, you can feel his
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 transformation from starstruck rookie to
00:01:56 --> 00:01:59 terrified prisoner. But then they made some
00:01:59 --> 00:02:02 interesting choices with the supporting cast.
00:02:03 --> 00:02:05 Chris: Oh, man. Like casting Jim Jeffries,
00:02:05 --> 00:02:07 an Australian comedian known for brash
00:02:07 --> 00:02:10 standup, as a serious sports medicine
00:02:10 --> 00:02:12 doctor. It's like they're making two
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 different movies simultaneously. And
00:02:15 --> 00:02:18 Julia Fox, as Isaiah's wife, feels
00:02:18 --> 00:02:20 completely disconnected from the story
00:02:20 --> 00:02:20 they're trying to tell.
00:02:21 --> 00:02:23 Jessica: So what do you think they were actually
00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 trying to say about sports culture with this
00:02:25 --> 00:02:25 film?
00:02:27 --> 00:02:28 Chris: Well, there are these fascinating threads
00:02:28 --> 00:02:31 about fan culture and how we turn athletes
00:02:31 --> 00:02:34 into modern day gods. Think about real
00:02:34 --> 00:02:36 sports fans who send death threats after
00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 missed plays or burn jerseys after
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 trades. That's genuine horror right there.
00:02:41 --> 00:02:44 The way we dehumanize these athletes while
00:02:44 --> 00:02:45 simultaneously worshiping them.
00:02:46 --> 00:02:48 Jessica: The training sequences really hammer that
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 home too. The way they show these brutal
00:02:50 --> 00:02:52 practice sessions where free agents end up
00:02:52 --> 00:02:55 bloodied and beaten it reflects something
00:02:55 --> 00:02:57 real about how we treat athletes as
00:02:57 --> 00:02:57 disposable.
00:02:58 --> 00:03:00 Chris: Exactly. In professional sports,
00:03:01 --> 00:03:03 we regularly see players pushed past their
00:03:03 --> 00:03:06 physical limits, playing through injuries,
00:03:06 --> 00:03:08 taking whatever substances they can legally
00:03:08 --> 00:03:11 get their hands on. The movie takes this to
00:03:11 --> 00:03:13 an extreme, but the foundation of that
00:03:13 --> 00:03:16 horror is absolutely rooted in reality.
00:03:17 --> 00:03:18 Jessica: M that's what makes this such a frustrating
00:03:18 --> 00:03:21 viewing experience. All the elements
00:03:21 --> 00:03:24 for a genuine sports horror story were right
00:03:24 --> 00:03:27 there. The pressure, the isolation,
00:03:27 --> 00:03:30 the physical toll, the psychological
00:03:30 --> 00:03:30 manipulation.
00:03:32 --> 00:03:33 Chris: You know what might have made this work
00:03:33 --> 00:03:36 better? If they had taken a more subtle
00:03:36 --> 00:03:39 approach, really building the tension through
00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 the realistic aspects before introducing any
00:03:42 --> 00:03:45 supernatural elements. Show us how
00:03:45 --> 00:03:46 these athletes are isolated from their
00:03:46 --> 00:03:49 support systems, pushed to compromise
00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 their values bit by bit,
00:03:52 --> 00:03:54 transformed by the pressure and expectations.
00:03:55 --> 00:03:57 Jessica: That kind of gradual build would have made
00:03:57 --> 00:04:00 any horror elements feel more earned, more
00:04:00 --> 00:04:02 organic to the story they were trying to
00:04:02 --> 00:04:02 tell.
00:04:03 --> 00:04:06 Chris: In the end, him serves as a cautionary tale
00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 about both the dark side of sports and the
00:04:09 --> 00:04:11 challenges of genre blending and filmmaking.
00:04:12 --> 00:04:14 Sometimes the most effective horror comes
00:04:14 --> 00:04:16 from holding up a mirror to reality rather
00:04:16 --> 00:04:18 than trying to create something supernatural.
00:04:19 --> 00:04:21 The real tragedy isn't just that this movie
00:04:21 --> 00:04:24 fails to deliver on its premise. It's that
00:04:24 --> 00:04:26 it missed an opportunity to say something
00:04:26 --> 00:04:29 meaningful about the very real horrors that
00:04:29 --> 00:04:30 exist in professional sports.
00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 Jessica: That's really the perfect way to sum it up.
00:04:34 --> 00:04:36 Sometimes the scariest stories are the ones
00:04:36 --> 00:04:38 we already know. They just need to be told
00:04:38 --> 00:04:41 the right way. Score wise, we can only give
00:04:41 --> 00:04:42 this one a three out of ten.