Jordan Peele’s New Sports Horror Promises Friday Night Lights With a Bite of Nosferatu

Get ready for something different. Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions is back with a horror film that dares to mix touchdowns with terror. The movie is called HIM, and it’s being described as Friday Night Lights meets Nosferatu. Directed by Justin Tipping, who also co-wrote the script, the film drops audiences right into the world of American football, only to slowly twist it into something much darker.

The story follows Cameron Cade, a rising football star played by Tyriq Withers, who’s given the opportunity of a lifetime: train under legendary quarterback Isaiah White, played by Marlon Wayans. But this isn’t your typical mentorship.

As Cameron starts training at Isaiah’s private compound, things begin to spiral into something far more unsettling. The dream of becoming the greatest soon turns into a nightmare.

Talking to Empire, director Justin Tipping explained his approach: “My instinct was to set it up in a way that it feels like we’re in Friday Night Lights, or a Gatorade or Nike ad,” he said. “We’re rooting for the kid who just needs to unlock one thing to take it to the next level. And then we subvert the expectations and let it become Nosferatu or Ex Machina.”

Tipping leaned into the darker side of ambition, using horror to explore the dangers of chasing greatness at any cost. “Once I started leaning into some of my favourite horror — which would be more in the vein of a Jacob’s Ladder — the creative floodgates just opened,” he added.

For Jordan Peele, the idea was exactly the kind of weird mash-up Monkeypaw Productions was made for. “At Monkeypaw, we love ideas that shouldn’t be made and that we’re not supposed to touch,” he told Empire. “And the combination of sports and horror was something I had never quite seen.”

The film also stars Julia Fox as Isaiah’s wife, along with Tim Heidecker, Jim Jefferies, Naomi Grossman, and more. The music is composed by Bobby Krlic, known for his haunting work on other genre projects.

Originally written under the title GOAT, the script by Zack Akers and Skip Bronkie made the Black List of best unproduced screenplays in 2022. Monkeypaw picked it up and brought on Tipping to direct. Filming wrapped in late 2024, and now the finished product is almost here.

Universal Pictures will release HIM in theaters on September 19, 2025. If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like when dreams of sports glory twist into something terrifying, this might be the movie you’ve been waiting for.

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