After finally seeing Sinners on the biggest screen possible, we have thoughts about Ryan Coogler’s latest work.
From the moment I saw the first trailer for Sinners, I knew this movie was going to be something special. A Prohibition-era film starring Michael B. Jordan in a dual role? That in and of itself makes the film must see. But throw in the revelation that this is also vampire film?? Well, then you have the recipe for the best movie of the year.
Sinners
Directed by: Ryan Coogler
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku
Release Date: April 18, 2025
Sinners is directed by Ryan Coogler and takes place in the Mississipi Delta in 1932. The Smokestack Twins, Smoke and Stack (Michael B. Jordan in a dual role), aim to set up a music and gambling establishment where everyone can come and let loose, at a time when African-American people weren’t really free to do that whenever they liked. It seems to be going well, until their party is noticed by a creature out of legend and nightmares: a vampire. And this vampire is determined to join the party and won’t take no for an answer.
I have to admit I have struggled all day with how to speak about Sinners. Because while it’s easy to paraphrase the plot, it’s much harder to explain just how perfect this film is. It’s one half period drama and one half horror film and the two are bound so closely together it feels almost like a matter of course that the story ended up where it did. There’s something about the raw passion infused in this film, it leaves you feeling like anything is possible, such that when the vampires arrive, you don’t even blink that such creatures are real in this world.
First and foremost I have to talk about the music in this film. Normally I would save this for last but the music of Sinners is such an integral part of the story that it must be discussed before anything else. The score is brimming over with blues music, much of which was recorded live during filming. Composer Ludwig Göransson took great care to research the blues music of the period and worked with notable blues musicians like Buddy Guy, and it shows throughout. This was definitely a film where the choice of music was critical for its success and they nailed it.
The blues music alone makes the film amazing, but then there’s the rest of the music. For reasons of spoilers I can’t get too specific except to say that there’s an outdoor dance sequence that will leave your heart racing by the time it ends. As for the orchestral music, I like how it plays fairly straight in the first half of the film, what you would expect to hear of a film set in the 1930s, with only the barest hints that anything supernatural is work. But once the vampires enter the story, it’s almost like Göransson flipped a switch and wove in a theme of supernatural horror that leaves your skin crawling.
Speaking of flipping a switch, I can’t get over how seamlessly Sinners transitions from period drama to horror film. Except for one or two hints, there is almost no indication in the first half of the film that anything supernatural is at work beyond some references to Hoodoo being practiced. Once it gets going though, things develop very quickly. These aren’t quite the type of vampires you’re familiar with. They remind me of a cross between traditional vampires and a zombie horde and that is not a bad thing. Finding ways to change up the vampire mythos makes it harder to predict which way the story will go and I guarantee you will not see this particular ending coming.
The acting from everyone is superb in this film but I have to give special mention to Michael B. Jordan. I’m not sure exactly how they did it, but if you didn’t know better you’d swear he really did have an identical twin. And the personality differences between the two allow Jordan to run practically the entire gamut of emotions before the film is over.
Then there’s Miles Caton making his big screen debut as the twin’s younger cousin. If this film is any indication, that young man is going places. Not only does he hold his own opposite Michael B. Jordan, his singing voice is out of this world.
And finally I should mention Jack O’Connell as the vampire who sets the horror portion of the story into motion. What sets this performance apart for me is his ability to blend toegether affability and overwhelming menace. It’s the type of performance where the character is perfectly charming, technically hasn’t said a thing wrong, but every instinct screams for you to run. Such is the performance that O’Connell delivers and it’s one of the best you’ll see this year.
One last tip: be sure to see Sinners on an IMAX scream if possible. Coogler does a few neat tricks with the aspect ratio of the film throughout the story and it really draws the view in for certain moments.
In conclusion, Sinners is easily one of the best films I’ve seen this year. It’s a soul-searing tale of music and supernatural horrors and reminds us that just because the world modernized doesn’t mean the monsters went away. This is the kind of film that can be seen over and over again and never get old.
