There’s a scene I’d like to call the center of “Sinners,” a scene so prevalent that anyone who’s seen the new release would immediately know what I’m speaking of based on the beauty of the cinematography and the creative minds of all those responsible for the scene. The scene is around 7 minutes long, with aspiring blues singer Sammie (played by first-time actor Miles Caton) lighting up the night right as he debuts his voice for excited partygoers: a voice so powerful that it can “Conjure spirits from the past, and the future” (“Sinners”). The scene is beautifully done, with eccentric Zaouli dancers (Ivory Coast, early 1900s), a silhouette only defined as an ode to Jimi Hendrix playing an electric guitar, and even a lady twerking dressed in ‘90s fashion. The scene is a beautiful homage to how the power of music transcends linear time, or at least, “Sinners” finds a way to add that notion to the 2025 Southern Gothic twist on the traditional vampire film.
Picture this: two twin brothers come back to their hometown in Mississippi for the big opening night of their blues joint, “Club Juke.” They bring their younger cousin along to spark his career in music, prepared for what will be the night of their lives, meet up with some old friends (and lovers), and have to end the night with a choice between pleasure and freedom, or inconceivable survival. You’ll find out whether life or death can promise eternal bliss in this historical thriller from the mind of ‘Black Panther’ and “Creed” Director Ryan Coogler.
Set in 1932 in the Mississippi Delta region, ‘Sinners’ was Coogler’s sandpit where he could make a Vampire musical with intense odes to history into a film that just makes sense. Starring Michael B. Jordan (As both twins, Elijah ‘Smoke’ Moore and Elias ‘Stack’ Moore), “Sinners” feels like when your grandmother tells you a story about what her ancestors thought was evil. Everything feels real, to the point where you’ll leave your seat in the theater and wonder if what you saw could have been factual to a point.
While on paper, the concept of singing vampires who’d foil the plans of the Ku Klux Klan in order to be the first to attack an all-black night club sounds as ridiculous as “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” (2016) and “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” (2012)- as Kit Lazer (notable online film reviewer) noted in his Letterboxd review that garnered over 2,500 likes, “It’s a horror movie about vampires in the American South, 1932, but that’s all just set-dressing. It’s such an intoxicating blend of genres, a movie that is a melting pot just like the cultural heritage this movie explores.” (Lazer)
Since its opening, the movie has stayed in high acclaim of reviewers, small and large, and its Rotten Tomatoes score has reflected the same. The score has stayed in the high 90s, is currently at 98 (as of April 29), and peaked at 100 on its April 18 release date. As raving reviews come in with every watch, it’s no wonder why some like David Canfield (a Hollywood Correspondent at “Vanity Fair”) have a deep belief in the movie having a major chance at accolades during the 98th Academy Awards ceremony (Oscars) next march; the latter concluded his review of the film as “with Sinners appearing primed to easily cross $100 million domestically, it would surely be one of the year’s highest-grossing best-picture nominees” (Vanity Fair).
Now, the cast of ‘Sinners’ was of new and old stars, including Michael B. Jordan as twins Smoke/Stack (Creed, Black Panther), Miles Caton as Sammie (after catching the eye of Coogler while touring female singer ‘HER’), Hailee Steinfield (Pitch Perfect 2 & 3, Hawkeye), and many more.
The capability of any actor to play a set of identical twins in any dynamic is already impressive, but Jordan creates a dynamic between Smoke and Stack that I’ve personally never seen before (Smoke wears a blue hat and secondary colors throughout the movie, while Stack wears red- just in case you get confused during the showing). One of the most dynamic differences between the twins was Smoke’s hand tremor; the movie includes a few scenes referencing how Stack rolled all of Smoke’s cigarettes, which was such an important scene for viewers to really see and take in their relationship–a hint of its own for the resolution of the film.
If you were to put all the components of this supernatural, musical tale of black sharecroppers and the vampires who hunt them, the story would sound utterly nonsensical. But, Coogler sets such an intricate stage that halfway through the movie, the film’s sound and look enthrall the audience into trusting everything that happens. For the look of the film, you can thank Coogler’s vision, which has been applauded since the release of Creed (2015) and Black Panther (2018). For the ambience created through its score? You can thank Ludwig Göransson.
Watching “Sinners” felt like a vacation; Through Coogler’s detailed storytelling, you feel transported to the southern-gothic, vampire town of Coogler’s dream. What helped to tell this vastly unique story was a vastly unique composer- Ludwig Göransson. Notable for his work as original composer for the scores of the Creed series (one of his first projects with Coogler after meeting him in their USC dorms), Turning Red, Oppenheimer, and Black Panther (the latter 2, he had been nominated and won Academy Awards for).
In Sinners, you can see Göransson’s attention to detail in the names of culture and especially history. The tangy blues guitar that manages to bring you back to a time you’ve never been, and all the notes to blues favorites that show Göransson truly did his research. Göransson somehow found a way to create a beautiful composition of a brassy base and modern 808s that fit the image Coogler effectively displayed in the film.
Overall, the ambiance of “Sinners” is what makes it so beautiful. The atmosphere you seem to melt into as you watch it and the cast that develop into their own distinct and original characters in your mind by the time you leave your seats, all contribute to an amazing theatrical experience. It’s no wonder it’s become one of my personal favorites this year. The movie was also filmed in 70 MM IMAX, and when I watched it in the preferred format, my experience elevated it. I’d recommend it for your show, too!
