HIM - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

HIM



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
While baseball has been considered “America’s sport” for most of its sporting lifetime, American Football is not exactly far behind. Sports fans are ravenous consumers of men kicking the ball around, and there are very few sports in American popular culture that are as violent as Football has been. I mean, we had to change the rules multiple times because people were dying on the field, and sports medicine has been forced to make leaps and bounds in skill and ability to keep up with the injuries that plague professional athletes. These men and women give their very bodies in sacrifice for the game, shortening their comfort level and lifespans for the glory and thrill of it all. So it’s not surprising that sports films garner such critical and audience acclaim over the years. Whether it’s high schoolers prepping for their college tryouts, or major league athletes giving blood on the field. We just can’t get enough.

So what would be appropriate for a football movie? How about we make a horror movie about football? Would that work? Blood, pain, sacrifice, agony, that’s all the very cornerstones of a good horror movie and football movie alike. Buuuuuuuuuut things that sound good on paper don’t always translate well in the real world. Which is exactly what seemed to happen here with HIM.

Young Cameron (Tyrig Withers) idolizes the Savior’s quarterback, Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans), and wishes that someday he could become like his hero. And years later, that day very well may be here, as he’s trained his entire life for a chance at the big leagues, and Isaiah is rumored to be dropping out of the league before the next year. When Cam gets that fateful call asking him to come out to Isaiah’s mansion for a week to evaluate him, he’s on top of the world. The GOAT himself wants this up-and-coming to come out and evaluate him as his replacement. That’s the dream that every young athlete wishes and prays for.

But the thing is, he’s sustained a head injury by a crazy fan that has left him with staples in his head and a warning from his doctor that should he sustain any major head injuries, it may cripple him for life. But hey, this is football, and as fast as he can get out there, Cam is on Isaiah’s doorstep. At first, the training seems pretty standard, with him running drills and showing off his skills to GOAT, but things turn weird real fast. Tests that seemed innocent turn bloody fast, with Isaiah introducing a whole new meaning to the term “sacrifice”. Day by day, hour by hour, Cam is pushed to his psychological and physical max, all leading up to the inevitable…...not everything is worth sacrificing.

Director Justin Tipping uses heavy allegorical messages and very, VERY overt ambiance to fuel the creepy film. It’s not 5 minutes into the movie before the sense of uneasiness and obvious horror clues in the audience that something isn’t right. Heavy “devilish” vibes and color schemes permeate every second of the training, with surreal imagery and flashbacks that are designed to disorient the viewer. And while I never really vibed with the tone of the film, I can understand what Tipping was trying to do. We are watching a young man descend into a pit of madness, completely clueless about what he’s doing until it’s too late. Partially because he blinds himself to that fact, but also because there are darker forces at work here.

Honestly, I didn’t really like the film’s attempt at horror AT ALL. The overt use of dark imagery, parallels between “GOAT” (Greatest Of All Time) with the obvious demonic use of the goat as a tool/vessel for satan are a little TOO on the nose. And while I don’t mind horror movies having little back story or explanation for evil, it was just glossed over as if Tipping through that the imagery alone would sell the subtext. Even the bloody finale is just a bit too over the top, ending with (what appears to be at least) Satan taking the last remaining survivor of those involved in this on a wooden pentagram. While I like subtle and gory horror films like Get Out, or even US, HIM just missed the mark everywhere it attempted a pass. I get what they were going for, but I feel it just didn’t land.




Rating:

Rated R for strong bloody violence, language throughout, sexual material, nudity and some drug use.




Video:

According to IMDB, HIM was shot using Arri Alexa 35, Red Komodo, and Teledyne digital cameras, and the whole affair looks sparklingly great. Fake grain was obviously added in to give it that sort of authentic “football movie” vibe, and while I’m not a fan of fake grain, it looks pretty natural to my eyes. Colors are wild and all over the place, ranging from dark browns, demonic reds inside Isaiah’s mansion, down to clean and clear green grass on the field. Fine details such as blood, sweat, and even the staples on Cam’s head look immaculate. Black levels showed no signs of crush or banding, and I really couldn’t find fault with this encode at all. Near perfect in every shot.









Audio:

Using the same Atmos track as the 4K UHD disc (thank you Universal), HIM features a stunning audio mix that is aggressive, powerful, and fully immersive at all times. Whether it’s fighter jets roaring overhead at the end or the raw and pulsating score, this is awe-inspiring. In the commentary, Tipping goes into great detail about why he chose such a powerful and ominous mix, in that he wanted it to set the tone and guide the visuals. And while I wasn’t appreciative of the results in the film, the audio is certainly an awe-inspiring experience. Bass is downright vicious, permeating every scene that it can, and vocals are spot on perfect. This is one of the few times that I give out a 5/5 audio rating.









Extras:

• Feature Commentary with Director/Co-Writer Justin Tipping
• Alternate Ending: Zay's Nightmare
• Deleted End Credits Scene: Food or Freedom
• Deleted Scenes:
-- Cheers – features Tyriq Withers
-- Don't Be a Mascot – features Marlon Wayans and Tyriq Withers
-- The Publicist – features Marlon Wayans, Tyriq Withers, and Julia Fox
-- Fantasy Football – features Tyriq Withers and Julia Fox
-- Cam's Discovery – features Tyriq Withers and Julia Fox
• Becoming Them – Tyriq Withers and Marlon Wayans didn't just train like athletes — they learned to think like them. From strict diets and daily workouts to meditation sessions and leadership drills, we explore how these two actors didn't just play the part—they lived it.
• The Sport of Filmmaking – From integrated lighting and military grade thermal cameras to detailed prosthetics and elevated sets, see how everything came together to create a film as spiritual as it is cinematic.
• Anatomy of a Scene:
-- Rebirth
-- A Diabolical Game of Catch
• Hymns of a G.O.A.T. – Go behind the scenes with composer Bobby Krlic as he heightens the film's psychological edge through score—layering aggressive textures, foreboding tensions, and atmospheric sound design that heighten every moment.

Final Score:

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I give credit to Justin Tipping and everyone involved for trying something novel. It really was kind of ambitious and made for a unique angle in the horror community. Marlan Wayans and Tyriq Withers did a very solid job as the leads (especially Wayans, who was positively JACKED for his age), but at the end of the day, HIM is one point after that was missed. A swing and a miss. A Hail Mary that was out of bounds. You get the drift. The Blu-ray looked and sounded nice, and there are some decent extras on board, but this is a film I honestly don’t think I’ll ever pick up for a spin again. And this is coming from the guy who will watch any cheesy horror movie he can, just because I love the genre so much. Pass.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Marlon Wayans, Tyriq Withers, Julia Fox, Tim Heidecker
Directed by: Justin Tipping
Written by: Skip Bronkie, Zack Akers, Justin Tipping
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), French, Spanish DD+ 7.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Universal Pictures
Rated: PG
Runtime: 96 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: November 11th, 2025

Recommendation: Pass

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