The new horror movie from Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions, HIM will release in theaters on September 19, and Empire Online has shared a brand new image this week.
The director of HIM is not Jordan Peele but rather Justin Tipping (Kicks), and Tipping explains to Empire Online that while the film may initially seem like a typical sports movie, it ultimately devolves until a full-throated nightmare of an experience.
Tipping tells the outlet, “My instinct was to set it up in a way that it feels like we’re in Friday Night Lights, or a Gatorade or Nike ad. We’re rooting for the kid who just needs to unlock one thing to take it to the next level. And then we subvert the expectations and let it become Nosferatu or Ex Machina.”
“And let it evolve or devolve — depending on your sensibilities — into something it’s not,” Tipping continues.
From Oscar® winner Jordan Peele and Monkeypaw Productions, producers of the landmark horror films Get Out, Us, Candyman and Nope, comes a chilling journey into the inner sanctum of fame, idolatry and the pursuit of excellence at any cost, featuring an electrifying dramatic performance from Marlon Wayans (Air, Respect).
HIM stars former college wide-receiver Tyriq Withers (the upcoming 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; Uncut Gems, No Sudden Move). 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.
The film features a dynamic supporting cast including alternative comedy legend Tim Heidecker (First Time Female Director, Us) and Australian comic Jim Jefferies (The Jim Jefferies Show), plus MMA heavyweight fighter Maurice Greene and hip hop phenoms Guapdad 4000 and Grammy nominee Tierra Whack, all three in their feature film debuts.
