Him - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Four stars for a football/horror movie might seem high at first glance. I will admit that the film is more of a conceptual experiment than some more narratively focused films. What does it take to become The Best at something? What are you willing to do to get there? These sorts of questions are more what HIM is concerned with than telling a more traditional story with more traditional obstacles and nemeses, and on first viewing, that shook me.

It was on a repeat viewing that the film began to gel. All the disparate elements, as well as the prevalence of style, all started to come together more for me and really began to work together, like a team. The commentary track with director Justin Tipping further elucidated the sheer amount of detail and levels the film is working on at all times. Which isn't to say that HIM can't be over-stimulating, at times coming off like an especially grizzly, psyche-assaulting Gatorade commercial, it's just that over time, I've learned to add "(complimentary)" to the end of that statement.

Story and style aside, HIM features an impressive lead performance from Tyriq Withers (as Cam) and an absolutely dynamite, career-redefining performance from Marlon Wayans. Withers' emotive eyes convey a depth of emotion from scene to scene, always acting as a grounding force; a calm (no pun intended) eye of the storm no matter how crazy events outside are, and trust me, they get plenty crazy. Wayans, meanwhile, is essentially giving the best hair-trigger psychopath performance of the decade?

Ultimately, there's more about HIM to root for than against, and as was my experience, a second go-round was what it took to really click with it. If you dig on unusual horror movies, occult symbolism, Alejandro Jodorowsky-style visuals (seriously), top-tier villain performances, or the ethos of "God, Family, Football", you'd be remiss in letting HIM pass you by.

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K UHD 
Him takes a pass to 4K UHD with a two-disc 4K + Blu-ray+ Digital edition from Universal. The case is your standard, black snap-case. There's also a slip cover which recreates the same cover image. The disc loads to a standard main menu with basic navigation options. 

As with my Bugonia 4K review, I'll mark this with 4.5 stars because maybe, somewhere out there in the cinematic cosmos, there's a film that looks inarguably better than this. Maybe. Regardless, HIM looks incredible. Color, as director Justin Tipping mentions during his commentary track, plays a major part within the film, as do things like the costuming and set design. Even more so than in your average film. This 4K presentation does all of these justice, allowing you to soak up every detail. Every drop of blood, sweat, and tears is perfectly preserved. The lighting is very manicured in HIM, due in large part to the unusual locations where they filmed, but everything is incredibly well-balanced here. Similarly, the effects shots look tremendous. There are repeated sequences shot with an infrared camera, and to say things have come a long way since Predator (1987)'s heat vision is a massive understatement.

My major takeaway, sonically, from HIM was how well-integrated the score is. There's an entire special feature based around how the score was created, and the ways in which it was utilized, and with that in mind, I paid special attention to it upon my rewatch. Beyond just conveying the tone and emotional content, the score is manipulated in almost meta-textual ways, like having it performed as though it were part of the music being heard within the film itself! My audio setup might not be the fanciest, but the Dolby Atmos made the most of it. Dialogue was clear, the music was powerful, the sports and training impacts all felt brutal, and the sheer size of some of the rooms was conveyed very well through the mix.

I'm giving the bonus features here a respectable/high score because there are a lot of them, and they are obviously well thought-out. Some may be brief, but they're thorough. Aside from a bunch of deleted scenes and an alternate ending, there are numerous making-of featurettes examining the film's themes, how certain scenes were constructed, the casting of Marlon Wayans, and, as mentioned above, the work that went into scoring the film.

I also want to give a special shout-out to the commentary track with director Justin Tipping, which was full of even more insights. It also features my favorite trope of commentary tracks: when a filmmaker points out a moment in the film that is obviously an effects shot, briefly claims they did it practically, then admits they were kidding, ending with some version of "That's what we call Movie Magic." Like a toddler giggling at the 'got yer nose' gag, I laugh every time.

• Audio Commentary featuring Justin Tipping
• Alternate Ending: "Zay's Nightmare" (HD 2:13)
• Deleted End Credits Scene: "Food of Freedom" (HD 1:07)
• Deleted Scenes (HD 13:20 Total):
• "Cheers"
• "Don't Be a Mascot"
• "The Publicist"
• "Fantasy Football"
• "Cam's Discovery"
• Becoming Them (HD 9:07)
• The Sport of Filmmaking (HD 10:10)
• Anatomy of a Scene: "A Diabolical Game of Catch" (HD 4:26)
• Anatomy of a Scene: "Rebirth" (HD 4:53)
• Hymns of a Goat (HD 4:36)

I watched HIM for the first time at the end of last year, and enjoyed it just fine, but felt like I just wasn't on the same wavelength as the film. I jumped at the chance to review this release because I really wanted the chance to re-examine it, and I was not disappointed. HIM is a film that I can see being a tall order for some people: narratively light, thematically and conceptually dense, and with some very difficult moments (to paraphrase Justin Tipping, "In football, the body horror is built-in"). However, nothing about the film is superfluous. There are no cheap scares, no pointless violence. Everything serves the film by supporting the themes, which ask some very interesting questions. Add to that the fantastic lead performances and the jaw-dropping visuals, and HIM makes for a very satisfying addition to the under-represented Sports Horror genre. Recommended