*When Emmy Award-winning editor Taylor Joy Mason first read the script for “HIM,” she knew immediately that the story was one she wanted to tell.
“… the subject of sports and horror… I was like, sign me up, put me in coach,” Mason says. Growing up surrounded by athletics — her father was a former NFL player — she had a personal understanding of the sacrifices and darker realities of professional sports. “I saw the horrific aspects of it and was like, oh, this is perfect. I can speak to this pretty well in the edit,” she said.
Directed by Justin Tipping, “HIM” stars breakout actor Tyriq Withers and Marlon Wayans as Isaiah White, a mentor whose outward charisma hides a far more sinister core. Withers portrays a protégé navigating vulnerability, ambition, and eroding trust.
‘HIM’, produced by Jordan Peele and directed by Justin Tipping, is now playing in theaters.
Read our review: https://t.co/xt91LYoIbv pic.twitter.com/ilMgZ0aOtK
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 19, 2025
Scroll to continue reading
Mason’s collaboration with Tipping was rooted in a creative relationship that began years earlier. “We were colleagues at AFI about over 13 years ago,” she explains. Having worked alongside him in the past, Mason anticipated Tipping’s bold stylistic approach. “I knew getting into this that he was going to be a super hyper-stylistic director and try everything under the sun with devices and motifs and different cutting patterns and things like that.”
Their shared goal was to capture the paradox of professional sports, using sharp tonal shifts to mirror its contradictions. According to Mason, editing the performances of Wayans and Withers required careful restraint.
“We really had to play Marlon down because he’s so good. He’s so emphatic and evocative,” she explains. To build Isaiah’s character arc, Mason avoided revealing too much too soon. “I had to choose performances where he just seems approachable and normal… and then eventually kind of open the sinister aspects of his character up as Tariq is going through his journey in the compound.”
As Tyriq’s character transforms, his arc begins to mirror Isaiah’s descent. “They kind of almost become the same,” Mason says. “The commentary there is that one’s the bad guy, one’s the good guy, but they’re actually both victims in the circumstance.”
For Mason, the film’s central themes — sacrifice, identity, and control — shaped every editorial choice. “Sacrifice is probably the biggest theme. How much or what would you sacrifice to be the greatest of all time? And is it worth it?” she says. Mason and Tipping layered in symbolic elements and visual “Easter eggs” for viewers to discover on repeat viewings. “These ideas peppered in throughout… are meant for a second watch.”
The film’s final moments challenge audiences to reconsider what they’ve seen. “Both of these players, their body is not theirs. They’re fighting for control of their bodies, and neither of them have it, even though one looks like he’s in control and one doesn’t,” Mason explains.
The result is a story designed to provoke reflection without overtly spelling out its message. “We don’t want it to feel like a back-to-school story,” she says. “I hope people start questioning some of the things that they’re saying. If it is weird or confusing or whatever, I hope they look back and ask themselves twice what we might be trying to communicate there.”
With “HIM,” Mason continues to push the boundaries of narrative editing, blending psychological horror with the high-stakes world of sports — and delivering a film that leaves viewers unsettled long after the credits roll.
Watch our full conversation with Taylor Joy Mason below.
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: Chilling New Trailer for ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’ Reveals a Modern Psychological Thriller | Watch
Sign up for our Free daily newsletter HERE.
