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.