Directed by: Ryan Coogler
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Hailey Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Wunmi Mosaku, Delroy Lindo, Li Jun Li

3 years removed from the globe-smashing Marvel hit Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), writer-producer-director Ryan Coogler again takes the helm – this time for a unique period-horror piece Sinners. Starring Michael B. Jordan in dual roles as twins Smoke & Stack, Sinners tells of the twins’ homecoming to their native southern roots, fresh from leaving the Chicago underworld in post-WW2 South. Intent on establishing a juke joint in their community, they recruit the talents of young cousin Sammie (Miles Caton), a gifted guitarist, local bluesman Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo), and a few others to take care of business.

As things start to come together amid the intense interpersonal drama taking place, the almost successful opening night starts to unravel with the arrival of Remmick, a devilish outsider (Jack O’Connell) trying to crash the party. Not knowing of Remmick’s vampirism, the Juke Joint patrons methodically succumb, and the establishment devolves into chaos and ultimately a war against a formidable vampire army.

Sinners loosely combines the Faustian mythology of blues legend Robert Johnson and the mayhem of an action-packed 70s exploitation flick. The film’s solid first half is an engaging and entertaining setup with Jordan in fine form, and the ensemble cast supports him mightily. Mosaku is excellent as a local shaman with an emotional history with Smoke. Steinfeld is stunning as Stack’s steamy ex. Both are at their sultry best here. Lindo, a great character actor, plays Delta Slim with ease. Additionally, the film’s musical sequences are dream-like and fun to watch. Autumn Durald Arkapaw’s atmospheric cinematography is stellar.

With the fine execution of the characters, Sinners would have made a decent limited series, further delving into these characters’ backstories – a sign of Coogler’s meticulousness. In this case, we get 2 hours. Coogler makes us care, and this is what saves Sinners from being just another run-of-the-mill vampire movie. But it IS a vampire movie, and with that comes the familiar tropes and predictability that are hard to get around. To be fair, I felt this way even with the excellent Nosferatu (2024), which doesn’t hurt that film in the slightest but does soften the impact somewhat because we’ve all seen it before and will likely see it again in another reworking of the genre.

Some notable films have tried to make something different. Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark (1987) and my favorite Neil Jordan film from 2012, Byzantium (thanks, Ruth!). Both take off-road paths to the vampire story. Sinners takes a more mainstream approach, more akin to Robert Rodriguez, and the results are ok. Though the film feels split in half: the first section is an engaging period thriller, and the second an action-packed standoff Tarantino would be proud of.

That said, there are subtle touches in Sinners of Coogler’s themes of identity, duality, and loss, and this ultimately helps the film to be more than what it seems. Lucky for us, Coogler’s stylish flair and the fine ensemble cast and performances make Sinners a fun and entertaining watch.

(P.S. – stay for the credits.)

So have you seen SINNERS? Well, what do you think?

…