Movie Review – Sinners
Principal Cast : Michael B Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O’Connell, Wunmu Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Miller, Delroy Lindo, Peter Dreimanis, Lola Kirke, Li Jun Li, Saul Williams, Yao, David Maldonado, Helena Hu.
Synopsis: Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.
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Mixing elements of classic American gothic themes, supernatural horror and period crime drama, Ryan Coogler’s masterful Deep South subgenre piece, Sinners, is another reflection of his propulsive ability to showcase the black experience in modern America through his distinctive and evocative lens. While the basic plot mirrors somewhat the head-twist shenanigans of Robert Rodriguez’ From Dusk Til Dawn, manifesting utter horror in the face of urbane humanity, Coogler’s superb handling of the wide ensemble cast – not to mention Michael B Jordan’s chamaeleonic turn as twin brothers with incredibly thick southern accents -and his stable, powerful direction of many of the film’s jaw-dropping set-pieces, offers introspection and reflection within its deep well of emotional heft; so much so that, in many ways, the fact it’s a compelling vampire horror film is almost secondary to everything else.
Plot synopsis courtesy Wikipedia: Set in 1932 Mississippi, Michael B. Jordan stars in dual roles as twin brothers Elijah “Smoke” and Elias “Stack,” former World War I soldiers and Chicago gangsters who return to their hometown of Clarksdale to open a juke joint in a disused sawmill. Their return is complicated by the presence of their musically gifted cousin Sammie (Miles Caton), whose blues performances awaken a dormant supernatural evil. As the brothers attempt to rebuild their lives, they confront both the horrors of their past and a vampiric menace that threatens their community. The film also features Hailee Steinfeld as Mary, Stack’s former love interest; Jack O’Connell as the sinister Remmick; and Delroy Lindo as the enigmatic Delta Slim.
I’ve purposefully kept the plot synopsis above as vague as I can, short of revealing many of the film’s tremendous surprises and alarming twists, not the least of which is the superb performance (performances?) of Michael B Jordan as both Smoke and Stack, brothers whose personalities couldn’t be further apart from each other despite an inherent sibling affection and bond. At first the manner in which Coogler throws Jordan into the frame as both brothers, in a superb piece of cinematic trickery, is jarring; this is an actor of profound impact in whatever role he’s playing, and the manifestation of him duplicated in the same frame is somewhat gobsmacking. But as the story unfolds, and both brothers diverge periodically to interact in their separate arcs within the larger narrative, Jordan’s turn as each is a testament to his ability to craft well developed, immediately identifiable characters that feel genuinely refreshing, intimately familiar, and exciting to watch. Jordan’s thick southern accents are tough to engage with at times, but his mannerisms and affectations as either brother really do feel different, enough that by the film’s half way mark, you really forget that they’re both the same actor.
It helps that Sinners‘ screenplay, written by the director, is a wonderful example of character and nuance over simplified ease. Coogler takes us on a fascinating, often fun ride into the Deep South in the early 30’s, during the latter stages of prohibition and even madder, into the racist, slave-owner Southern states that, at least in 2025, still feels awfully too recent in American history. The dialogue crackles with profound meaning and subtext, delivered by a generously gorgeous ensemble cast of black actors including the great Delroy Lindo, as a legendary Blues musician on the downslide, and Nigerian-born actress Wunmi Mosaku – better known for her work in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe as an agent of the Time Variant Authority in both Loki and Deadpool & Wolverine – as Smoke’s voodoo loving partner, Annie. Miles Caton, playing Sammie Moore, a guitar-playing prodigy who accompanies Smoke and Stack in their venture of owning a “juke joint” – a place where black folks gather to play their own music – is a revelation on the screen, while A-lister Hailee Steinfeld (Bumblebee, Pitch Perfect 3, True Grit) chews the scenery as a one-time lover of Stacks who seemingly has a vendetta. With such talent able to sink their acting chops into material as deep and compelling as Coogler’s Sinners screenplay, watching the film purely from an acting standpoint is an absolute pleasure.
As much as the first half of the film is all character work, setting up our ensemble for the sinister horror show to come, the film’s final act is a bonkers bloodbath of violence, betrayal, devastation and twists. Vampire films are a dime a dozen these days so you’d be forgiven for thinking Sinners might not have much to offer in this regard, but the sweaty Southern yee-haw aesthetic and Coogler’s dusky, sublime cinematography (thanks to DP Autumn Durald Arkapaw, who drapes the film in shadow and grim, omnipresent dread) offers a different kind of tableau on which to play out this shitstorm of violence. Coogler doesn’t shy away from the supernatural elements of the vampire horror genre, and his creatures are truly horrifying to watch – lead antagonist Remmick, played with teeth-gnashing charm and malevolence by Jack O’Connell, is particularly menacing as he slowly but surely grows his gang of sub-vamps, the slow transition from shadowy evil to outright carnage is gradual enough to trick the viewer that things might just be okay, but once Coogler sets his conflict in motion, it quickly becomes apparent that not everyone is getting out of this one alive… or undead, for that matter. The carnage is often brutal and shocking, with every injury, near miss and death absolutely earned, and I acknowledge I even gasped a couple of times with just how affecting some of Coogler’s narrative choices were; even the stylistic choices are creepy as hell, from the buzzards circling something dead off in the distance to the red-eyed vampiric effect given to the monsters as they lurk just out in the shadows, there is not a lot the director and his team do wrong here to manifest this a a legitimate masterwork of horror filmmaking.
I’m quite sure there’s a lot of subtext here that I, a while middle-aged Australian man, missed in my viewing of the film. I’m not a complete ignoramus of American history and cultural profundity so I’m at least aware of much of what’s being portrayed on the screen, and I could engage with the characters immediately thanks to Coogler’s superb writing and the cast’s overall strong performances. There’s almost no weak link here to speak of. As much as I’m avoiding spoiling the treat of seeing this for the first time, I can thoroughly recommend Sinners on all its many strengths and have a hope that come awards season later this year, it’ll find itself well within the mix. Sinners is thoroughly brilliant, and a film I’ve been thinking about its meaning for a while now.
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