In 2016, filmmaker Justin Tipping’s feature directorial debut, Kicks, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, notably having Mahershala Ali playing an urban gangster mentor mere months before he played a similar role in Barry Jenkins’ Oscar-winning Best Picture, Moonlight. (Ali also won his first Oscar for Jenkins’ film.)
Nine years later, Tipping is back with a much more high-profile second feature, the Jordan Peele-produced horror film, Him, starring Tyriq Withers (I Know What You Did Last Summer) as Cameron Cade, an ambitious college football player hoping to go pro when he’s called to the compound of his hero, Marlon Wayans’ Isaiah White. Having led his team to eight championships, White is considered the GOAT (aka Greatest of All Time), and his mentoring, which involves many odd training techniques, could help take Cameron to the next level as a player, despite a recent physical setback.
Him is a very different type of horror movie, because it’s based within the very real world of one of America’s most competitive sports and what it takes to get to the height of success and fame. It’s a very different film for Tipping due to the horror elements, which takes things to some incredible extremes.
Cinema Daily US had a chance to speak with Tipping about Him, how it came about, and how Jordan Peele was a collaborative but mostly hands-off producer, until the younger filmmaker needed help navigating within the studio system. You can watch the interview in the player above. Him will open nationwide on Friday, September 19.
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Director: Justin Tipping
Screenwriter: Zack Akers, Skip Bronkie, Justin Tipping
Cast: Tyriq Withers, Marlon Wayans, Julia Fox, Jordahn Smith, Tim Heidecker
Producer: Jordan Peele, Win Rosenfeld, Ian Cooper, Jamal M. Watson
Production Co: Monkeypaw Productions
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Rating: R (Strong Bloody Violence|Language Throughout|Sexual Material and Nudity|Some Drug Use)
Genre: Horror, Sports
Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): September 19, 2025
Runtime: 1 Hour, 36 Minutes
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You can watch the trailer for Him below: