Jordan Peele Horror Film ‘Him’ May Have Stolen Its Plot From An Unproduced Script That Inspired An AI-Generated Trailer
HIM might have turned off general audiences by being blatantly satanic, or on account of the reviews saying how bad it is. Either way, the film’s issues don’t end there. To top it all off, it may be the year’s most blatant ripoff that almost got away scot-free.
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According to Chris Gore of Film Threat, HIM copies an unproduced screenplay practically beat for beat. The script is titled Vampire Touchdown and its story is also about a football prodigy who is offered a second chance at stardom after suffering a debilitating injury.
The main difference is, in HIM, Tyriq Withers portrays a player who has to make a pact with the Devil to obtain the fame and fortune of his hero, played by a manic Marlon Wayans. In Vampire Touchdown, as that title suggests, the main character has to become a creature of the night to reclaim the opportunity he lost.
The screenplay is by Matt Landsman and Matthew Szewczyk, according to IMDb Pro. It was published in 2019 on The Black List, a website for unsold scripts that are acclaimed by industry insiders and by their readers.
A duo known as The Dor Brothers s later used their expertise to create a trailer based on the concept using AI. You can watch it in the video above along with Chris Gore’s analysis. He liked the mock trailer and would be happy to see the film get made one day.
Vampire Touchdown is listed as in development but there appears to be no progress. Never mind sprinting to the end zone, it can’t even get on the field.
Gore reviewed HIM for Film Threat and was willing to give it the benefit of the doubt, and say it was different enough from Vampire Touchdown to avoid too much scrutiny. However, he hated the film, which did not live up to its trailer.
If you want to judge for yourselves, HIM is playing in theaters now.
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