Sinners: Stunning, Brutal and Brilliant
- Eris Grey
- May 26
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 27
Sinners
Director: Ryan Coogler
Writer: Ryan Coogler Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Miles Caton, Jack O’Connell, Hailee Steinfeld
A New Kind of Vampire Horror
I wouldn’t classify Sinners as a horror movie, at least not a typical one we are used to, where the horror is the story's crescendo. It’s definitely pivotal and it’s important, but the story of Ryan Coogler's Sinners’ lies within the characters. This isn’t a simple vampire film, it’s a sexy, unsettling explosion of Southern Gothic, vampiric lore, exploitation, and the birthplace of of the blues.
Coogler has made a masterpiece, and he did so by intertwining authentic music with the proper telling of American history during the 1930s era. He wrote the music to be a character in itself, and that character was brought to life by the performances, most notably from Delroy Lindo and Miles Caton, whose blue playing and deep, soulful singing swelters with enough passion to incite both the vampires arrival in the film, but the ghosts of Black blues music that allowed for stunning cinematic visuals that captivated our ears and minds, and showed us just how powerful music is, how it transcends space and time, how it can reach into the future or pull you back into the past.
The film builds around Sammie, otherwise dubbed as Preacher Boy. He’s a prodigy of the guitar, a genuine blues player, and arrives at his father's small chapel with torn clothes, drenched in blood with lacerations across his face, and a snapped guitar neck in his hand. His father begs him to repent of his sins, the music brought the devil into his life, flashbacks of the night hover over us, and then we are taken back to the previous day, where we meet the Smokestack brothers, both brilliantly played by Michael B. Jordan who does an unbelievable job playing a dual role. He was able to convey mannerisms, statures, and voices that made it easy to tell which brother was Smoke and which was Stack. They’re back in town after being in Chicago for several years, with a suitcase of stolen cash and a dream of creating a Juke, a haven for Black workers to let themselves loose, to feel the music and live. The first act of the film builds on the characters. The Smokestack twins, Sammy, a harmonica player, Delta Sim, who enjoys the blues as much as he enjoys his booze, Pearline, a singer and love interest to Sammy, Bo and Grace Chow, local vendors and sign makers, Smoke’s estranged wife, Annie and Mary, the lost-love of Stack. Each of these characters is an integral part of the story and necessary to the slow-burn plot that develops. Delroy Lindo as Sim’s is a scene-stealer, with his perfectly timed humour and stories that suck you in. Hailee Steinfeld is incredible in a role where she was actually allowed to play an adult, and her vampire-drenched one-liner, the one we hear in the second trailer, was so perfectly menacing, it set the tone for the entire second act of the film.
This film is unearthly. It’s single-take sequences and captivating dyad between realism and invocation, where we receive mystical aspects with ancient vampirism, and music that creates rituals in a continuum. Ludwig Göranssons score is incredible, the tone of the music hums throughout the entire film. It reverberates through your whole body, it’s saturated in rhythmic blues, countered with Irish-Celtic folk music.
Last year, Robert Eggers began the journey of healing vampiric lore with ‘Nosferatu’, this year, Coogler took it a step further and gave us menacing vampires, The leader, Remmick, garishly played by Jack O’Connell brings in his own Irish repression in his 800-year-old story, while simultaneously targeting cultural appropriation with white terror masquerading as family. The vampires are not ethereal; they’re not monstrous-looking. Apart from a red shimmer in their eye, they appear human; they come across as near-perfect with their synchronized singing. Classic vampire cannons are pulled for this film, and they’re done beautifully. The vampires are both mesmerizing and vicious. They’re invited and sub-human. There was no fear in letting them be blood-soaked, no qualms in building a death count. The vampires lean into societal racism by attempting to make kin with the marginalized, with the promise of power, community. They offer love but at the cost of their lives. The vampires set out the notion that you are accepted regardless of your skin colour, you only need to tread carefully if you don’t join their family.
Ryan Coogler has shown that he can tackle nearly any genre, leaning hard into a musical-adjacent vampire story drenched in American racist roots. Sinners is a heartfelt, emotional journey that hits deeply. This movie is sexy, from the way the characters move to the dialogue. It pours together layers of storytelling to draw us in. It mixes elements brilliantly, enchanting us with the magical powers of music and the deep mythology of vampires.
This film is absolutely worth a theatrical viewing, iMAX if you have access. Prepare to be transported and gripped by another world. It’s the first movie in a long time that I wanted to watch it again immediately.
5/5
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is Sinners about? A: Sinners is a Southern Gothic vampire story infused with queerness, blues, and brutality. It explores cycles of abuse, survival, and the supernatural with raw intimacy.
Q: Is Sinners a traditional vampire movie? A: No. It departs from cliché, focusing on atmosphere, character pain, and queer desire over bloodlust tropes.
Q: Who should watch Sinners? A: Fans of southern gothic horror, queer cinema, and emotionally intense indie films will find this one unforgettable.
Q: What stands out most about the film?A: Its use of sound, performance, and metaphor, particularly in how grief, desire, and monstrosity intertwine.
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