'Sinners' Review: Ryan Coogler's Blood-soaked Southern Gothic Horror Masterpiece
Since I saw my late dad cry for the first time during Fruitvale Station in 2013, my love for Ryan Coogler has only grown, and he has become one of my favorite filmmakers. As a cinephile, it has been a delight to watch the Oakland-based filmmaker evolve alongside his homies and collaborators, actor Michael B. Jordan and composer Ludwig Göransson. Around the time of Fruitvale’s release, I was years deep into the cult of Jehovah's Witnessing, which forbade me from watching 50% of all movies. Fuck an MPA, JW's will make sure you're not watching any horror movies featuring mythology, wizardry, Satanic imagery, and most definitely no vampires. Many Black creatives of various religious backgrounds have faced this oppressive religious atmosphere, but not addressed it in their work.
Cut to Ryan Coogler's [long-overdue] first original feature, Sinners, which deconstructs the pillars of religious faith in America in a sophisticated, genre-bending southern horror period piece with so much on its mind and sharpened fangs ready to bite. It's part Lover's Rock, part From Dusk to Dawn, but overall Coogler’s most personal film to date. Sinners is the culmination of his directorial and storytelling talents I first saw in Fruitvale, and will surely go down as some of Black Cinema's finest.
Image Copyright: © 2025 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
| Photos by Eli Adé
MPA Rating: R (Strong bloody violence, sexual content and language.)
Runtime: 2 Hours and 17 Minutes
Production Companies: Proximity Media
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Director: Ryan Coogler
Writer: Ryan Coogler
Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O'Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Miller, Li Jun Li, Delroy Lindo, Yao, Lola Kirke, Peter Dreimanis, Saul Williams
Release Date: April 18, 2025
1932, the height of the Jim Crow era. Infamous gangster twins ‘Smoke’ and ‘Stack’ (Michael B. Jordan) return home to Clarksdale, Mississippi from Chicago with a wad of cash to open a juke joint in an old mill. They pick up their younger cousin, Sammie (Miles Canton), a prodigious blues player and the son of a disapproving priest, and together they assemble a team and get the word out for opening night. The cold and logistical Smoke wrangles his crew, including bodega owner couple Grace (Li Jun Li) and Bo Chow (Yao) and his soulmate, Hoodoo woman Annie (Wunmi Mosaku). Meanwhile, Sammie and the people-pleasing and reckless Stack enlist alcoholic Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo) to play the harmonica and sharecropper Cornbread (Omar Miller) to work security. During their errands, Stack also has a run-in with his past flame, Mary (Hailee Steinfeld).
Club Juke’s doors open at nightfall, and working class Black folks flock to engage in a night of celebratory freedom full of dancing, debauchery, and live music. But when Sammie hits the stage, his passionate blues songs summon a fanged evil (Jack O'Connell) who arrives at the club looking for more than a good time.
Ryan returns to his roots upon roots
After years of solely operating within the confines of existing IP with Creed and Black Panther, Sinners finds Coogler finally liberating himself and returning to his roots as a storyteller. The first act plays out similarly to Fruitvale, as he draws out the events of this fateful day. Coogler introduces the SmokeStack twins as the archetypal prodigal sons, and every sequence of their triumphant but ill-fated return paints a meticulously textured slice-of-life portrait of the American South during Jim Crow. Every hometown character that Smoke and Stack encounter is vivid and completely alive, endowed with their own Southern wit and charm, and in their own way each contribute to the film's strong sense of humor that speaks to Black resilience.
Some will take umbrage at how long Coogler spends introducing his characters and the weight of all they face at this point in American history before the supernatural elements come into play. I say it's like seeing a master get reacquainted with his old paintbrush. He takes such care to make you invested in every character so that when the shit hits the fan, you are watching them fight to survive as if you had a wooden stake inches from your own heart.
Autumn Durald Arkapaw's remarkable DP work also contributes to immersing you in the film. To see Black people of all tones on location in all their natural beauty and orange-brown hues on the biggest screen, especially during its concert sequences, is enough to make you tear up in pride and give you the biggest FOMO. I implore you to seek it out in IMAX 70mm if you can. The film was shot in 70mm using both IMAX and Ultra Panavision cameras, meaning that the aspect ratios shift between tallest and widest at different points, making for a unique celluloid cinematic experience and the best you'll find this year. The print is luscious and gritty and perfectly suits the film's gothic style.
Michael B. Jordan leads Sinners’ bloody good cast
Michael B. Jordan's dual performance as the SmokeStack twins is absolutely exemplary. Each twin is so distinctive and rich in personality, and man, their interactions are hella heartfelt. As in Adam Elliot's Memoir of a Snail, the twins have two souls but share one heart. Their loving relationship is another strong component of the film's, well, um, heart. Additionally, Jordan shares remarkable chemistry with his costars, who are all great. Wunmi Mosaku emanates grace and an exquisite understanding of the role. Delroy Lindo is a profound comic relief, effortlessly fitting into the role of wise old drunk. Hailee Stenfeld holds her own in confidence.
But a new star is born: Miles Caton! Remember that name. For this being his first role, he has immense screen presence, remarkable chemistry with his costars while holding his own, undeniable rizz, and a set of pipes that will send chills down your spine. All while carrying the crux of the film’s commentary. Undoubtedly, Caton delivers THE breakthrough performance of the year.
Coogler delivers a biting social commentary that will turn some heads
Let me be clear. Sinners is a straight-up vampire horror movie and delivers on its promise of being a grisly ride full of blood-soaked chaos. Coogler’s direction is gleefully old-fashioned, as he opts for the practical blood-spurts and stomach-churning prosthetic make-up instead of the studio-mandated CGI crap. It's impressive and remarkably inspired, given this is his first foray into the genre. From a mythological standpoint as well, I love how it strips the rules back to basics, with emphasis on the first rule: don’t let them into your home. Vampires can't hurt you if they don't receive an invitation to the barbecue.
The vampires are more than just fanged demons out for blood. They are a tool for making two bold commentaries. The first is on musical cultural appropriation. Through Sammie, who is the picture's true heart and soul, the film ingeniously interlinks West African folklore and the history of Black music... for among its many genre-bending identities, Sinners is also a musical. Don’t get me started on the remarkable score Ludwig Göransson provides as well. In a breathtaking oner, which is by far the most awe-inspiring scene of the year (and surely a personal top five ever), Coogler fiercely tributes the architects of music in all its genres throughout time and space. Once Jack O'Connell's delightfully devilish Remmick struts in, summoned by the sound, Coogler sinks his teeth into the commentary with ferocity: Black art and originality are absorbed and copied by bloodsuckers, from Pat Boone's Tutti Frutti cover to Addison Rae's sauceless TikTok dancing on Jimmy Fallon.
The other commentary, the bolder one, focuses on the plight of Black people who strive to achieve true liberation beyond the ruse of religion. Remmick and his vamps exhibit a certain kind of behavior, one that we know very well. No, not racism. As with the other themes of this movie, what Coogler is getting at is even more audacious. The physical clash between the revelers at Club Juke and their Irish vampiric antagonist, as well as their ironic points of cultural intersection, is the manifestation of the film's critique of religion. It recontextualizes the film's title, showing how religion subtly stifles true Black liberation. It will definitely piss people off, but as someone who has been in Sammie's shoes, I was here for it, and I hope it does the same for other church-raised Black folk too. There’s a lot of subtext to digest on a first watch. On my second viewing, everything clicked, and I was in awe. I resonated with Sinners so heavily that I am convinced if this had dropped when I was a teen, it would've absolved me of my religious trauma.
Final Statement
Sinners celebrates Black history with an innovative blend of folklore and mythology, making for a genre-bending blood-soaked southern gothic horror masterpiece.
