Him headbutts its way into the horror genre

Monkeypaw Productions ventures into new territory with Him while revisiting some familiar cinematic landscapes. It's a fresh idea to tackle football and athletic ambition while highlighting the darker side of the world of sports. Previous hybrid endeavors such as this have included bowling with Gutterballs and last year's Night Swim, but American Football is not often touched by this genre.

It is a perfect breeding ground for the fears one faces in competitive games and the greedy people who hold the purse strings. Producer Jordan Peele and director Justin Tipping are well aware of this from the jump and have gathered a well-equipped team to make it happen.

The story follows a young buck named Cameron Cade who is determined to excel as a quarterback and become the greatest of all time or GOAT. He is convinced to learn more under the tutelage of retired San Antonio Saviors' star Isaiah White and is sequestered in a private compound to train. Grounds rules include no cell phones and absolutely no GrindR. Can one even imagine a life with sacrifices such as this? Things grow worse by the day and the story is divided into stylized daily chapters of the journey. Like many graphic and gory flicks, this one leads up to a grizzly end where good and evil is ultimately tested.

Him is not an easy watch and younger viewers should be cautioned about the film containing abuse, graphic violence and dismemberment.

The real horrors in life surround familial expectations, toxic masculinity and bullying. Him taps into the anxiety of that and questions where the line is drawn on the artificial turf.

I Know What You Did Last Summer's Tyriq Withers gives it his all as Cam while sparring with the more experienced Marlon Wayans' Isaiah White. A concussion confuses Cam, leading him to suffer from vivid dream sequences and horrific hallucinations. This leaves him questioning what is real and Isaiah uses this to his advantage as a narcissist, forcing his victim to doubt his own feelings. The two actors deserve trophies and are outstanding in their individual parts.

Pansexual performer Julia Fox portrays the wacky Elsie White and Tierra Whack contributes both onscreen and offscreen with a supporting role and the soundtrack single “Tip Toe.”

The ritualistic physical activities and brutal battles found on the field deserve to be questioned by spectators, not celebrated like the days of the Roman Empire. Cade is fed to the lions, who all want a piece of the meat to devour.

Some of the plot points and striking visuals are inspired by past cinema and Him is a hodgepodge quilted together from various ideas on storyboards. The creators of Him throw blood on the wall to see what sticks and a great deal of it pays off.

Addiction to exercising, drug use and earthly temptations take place in an environment removed from Cam's support system, making him a sympathetic character. Those with ulterior motives around him create the tension to truly test his morals and goals. It's a lofty objective to accomplish and is more about how the game is played than the actual win.

Find Him trying to score at the box office on September 9, where audiences can see if Him hits its target or misses the mark.