Producer Jordan Peele’s 2025 horror/drama film Him, starring Tyriq Withers as “Cameron Cade,” was released in theaters on September 19th, 2025, revealing a bone-chilling epiphany about the clash between explicit glory and religion.
The movie begins by introducing a younger version of Cameron Cade sitting in front of a TV screen with his father. They are watching their favorite football team, the San Antonio Saviors. Cameron is in awe of their quarterback, Isaiah White, who has been coined the football GOAT. Cameron’s father holds a lot of confidence in his son, as he and Cameron chanted about how Cameron is “him,” painting the picture in his son’s head that he can be the next Isaiah White. The movie fast-forwards to 21-year-old Cameron Cade, who is now a top football prospect. He devotes his entire life to training, and is determined to be the best that he can be—at least that’s what he projects to others. On the inside, Cameron was grieving. His dad had suddenly passed away, which caused Cameron to come up with an idea that he thought was his own, of playing in honor of his father. However, Cameron was unaware of the rabbit hole he was falling down, one that was paved by his father throughout his childhood.
An unexpected event led to the spine-chilling truth behind what it means to be “great” sometimes. Isaiah White was not like a normal player; he obtained “power and pursuit of excellence at any cost.”
Near the end of the movie, Cameron finally realizes the nonsense caused by Isaiah’s charisma. Isaiah White is seemingly nothing short of a psycho. He planned to turn Cameron into the next version of himself so the legacy could live on. This legacy entailed more than training for football. It had to do with sexual fantasies and lunatic techniques, demonstrated through the multiple times that Isaiah transferred his own blood into Cameron when he was unconscious, hoping that Cameron would carry on the “GOAT” bloodstream.
The movie is rated 31% on the popular movie rating site Rotten Tomatoes, which is criminally low. Sandra Hall, a top critic who goes by “Sydney Morning Herald” on Rotten Tomatoes, rated the movie 3.5/5 stars. In her review, she expressed that the “editors are experts when timing and choreographing the film’s nastiest moments […] but they don’t know when enough is enough.” Many others agreed with her point of view that the movie seemed almost too graphic, taking away from the storyline of rookie success.
This movie definitely messes with the audience’s head because the storyline isn’t chronological. This forces viewers to interpret every detail of the movie in order to hold a deep understanding of the clash between glory and madness, something that a lot of people don’t fully appreciate. With that said, the best movies often necessitate a lot of thinking and a deep level of interpretation. This movie is not everyone’s cup of tea but, to a certain type of person, it will leave their cup piping hot.
