By Chris Evangelista

Copyright slashfilm

Cameron Cade grew up worshipping at the altar of of Isaiah White, the championship-winning quarterback for the San Antonio Saviors (“Him” has no time for subtilty, damn it, and lays its religious imagery and themes on heavy without apology). At one point, Isaiah suffered a terrible injury on the field — a bone was literally sticking out of his leg. But he managed to come back stronger than ever. However, he’s getting older, and it might be time for him to retire. And should he retire, there’s already some rumblings in the football world that Cam, who has grown up to be a star player himself, is the man to take his place.

Cam’s career hits a wall, however, when a mysterious figure in a creepy costume whacks him in the head and leaves him with a brain injury that requires staples in his skull. All is not lost, though, because soon Cam is summoned to Isaiah’s high-tech remote compound to train for a week. The opportunity to train one on one with his idol sounds like a dream come true, but since this is a horror movie, we know that this dream will soon turn into a nightmare.

Sure enough, the training quickly shifts from seeming perfectly normal to becoming completely unhinged, with plenty of ritualistic displays of masculine violence, including other players having footballs deliberately launched directly into the faces by machines, all while Cam keeps getting mysterious injections from Isaiah’s private doctor (an amusing Jim Jefferies). Also occasionally on hand, lurking about: Isaiah’s weirdo wife, played with just the right amount of ghoulish makeup by Julia Fox. All of these elements are sturdy enough to create a sufficient atmosphere of dread, and Tipping isn’t afraid to go over-the-top with the type of old school music video style that would make even the late, great Tony Scott blush. But where is this all going?