‘Sinners’ Review: A Superb and Bloody Spectacle from Ryan Coogler
There’s no denying that Ryan Coogler knows how to make a movie. The writer/director has stunned audiences with each of his films, from Fruitvale Station to Black Panther. He’s able to tell deeply affecting stories even within the Marvel Universe, and now, with Sinners, his first foray into the horror genre, Coogler further proves his keen eye for unique and compelling stories, as well as his inherent trust in his group of collaborators to help bring his new twisted (and surprisingly erotic) vision to life. Sinners is primed to be one of the best genre films of the year as Coogler pulls no punches in his vampire tale about music, desire, and survival in 1930s Mississippi.
Sinners unfolds not unlike a Stephen King novel (Coogler cites Salem’s Lot as a massive inspiration for the film) as we get to know the people of Clarksdale, a small, poor Mississippi town with a population made up of sharecroppers and insular white families. But when twins Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan) roll back into town with their fancy Chicago suits and stories of gangster violence hanging on their coat tails, they also carry hope of something more than sharecropping. They’ve bought the old abandoned mill with the goal of turning it into a juke joint where the town’s citizens can take a load off when the sun goes down. Music will play, booze will flow, and the twins will rake in the cash. A palace for sin, as the town preacher would say.
Along for the ride is our narrator of sorts, Sammie (Miles Caton), a talented young musician and son of that aforementioned preacher. He’s also the young cousin of the twins and looks up to them like a lost puppy (much to his father’s chagrin). They got out of this town, which means Sammie can, too. Especially with his guitar, which was a gift from his cousins. They hire Sammie to play at the new bar and he’s ready to show the world—well, the town—what he can do.
But this isn’t just Sammie or the twins; this about an entire town. As the twins arrive and start setting up their new business venture, we meet the rest of our key players such as the drunk but well-meaning pianist Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo), Smoke’s ex-lover Annie (Wunmi Mosaku), Stack’s ex-lover Mary (Hailee Seinfeld), grocery store owners Grace (Li Jun Li) and Bo Chow (Yao), sharecropper Cornbread (Omar Benson Miller), and the repressed Pearline (Jayme Lawson).
But of course, this is a horror movie and in rolls a massive complication: Sammie’s music attracts the attention of something ancient and very hungry. With his guitar, Sammie has accidentally drawn the eyes (and ears) of a vampire (Jack O’Connell) determined to slaughter this small town and make them all part of his cursed coven. Locked in a sanctuary made of rotting wood and rusty nails, a small group of survivors must try and last the night before becoming the next meal for the growing number of vampires outside their door.
At two hours and 17 minutes, Sinners is a lot of movie, with Coogler packing in as much meaning, symbolism, and story as he can within the constraints of a typical Hollywood blockbuster. That means that reviewing it feels almost like an insurmountable task. Every scene deserves its own essay as Coogler marries music, cinematography, and the political to weave his twisted take on the vampire. Sinners is perhaps his most ambitious film yet, and it pays off—mostly. With his latest film, Coogler creates a new kind of horror epic, and is unapologetic about staking his claim (pun intended) in a space predominantly only given to white male directors.
While this is a film about many things, Sinners is perhaps most notably a film about music, its power, and who it belongs to. In a feverish sequence as Sammie starts playing his guitar, anachronistic figures from the past and future appear, swirling around the dance floor to his song. It’s an intoxicating moment as Coogler essentially depicts the history of music and confidently makes the (very true) statement that music today wouldn’t exist without Black people, a statement that, even in 2025, is shockingly controversial. Coogler is showing that rock ‘ n ‘ roll, the blues, R&B, everything stems from the labor and hearts of Black communities, especially those who were taken away from their homes and enslaved in the name of colonialism, capitalism, and greed.
There is no denying the roots of modern music, roots watered by the blood, sweat, and tears of marginalized communities. And still, white people in power claim it’s theirs. But Coogler is here to slash down that assumption, armed with an IMAX camera, an incredible crew, and a deeply personal story that springs from Coogler’s chest like a bat out of hell.
Every note played in Sinners, diegetic and non-diegetic alike, resonates through your chest. The music is almost overwhelming at times, which mimics the characters’ on-screen experiences as they dance, move, and even fuck to the music. As mentioned previously, Sinners was filmed on IMAX cameras, which capture the beauty of this landscape, one bleached by the sun but still full of life as the residents of Clarksdale keep it alive one day at a time. It may be a hot, unforgiving landscape, but Coogler and his trusted DP Autumn Durald Arkapaw (Sinners marks their second collaborator) still imbue it with a sense of terrifying beauty. It’s how they capture the scorching sun that pumps Sinners with a strange, erotic energy that courses throughout the film; it’s never too much or over the top, but just enough to show that you can, and should, use sex effectively in genre fare.
And then there is, of course, the stunning ensemble cast, led by a doubly talented Jordan and a breakout performance from Caton. But really, every single person on screen throws themself into their roles. Steinfeld’s Mary is more complex than meets the eye, and Mosaku never lets Annie become a stereotypical Black female character (shout out to Coogler’s script for also giving her plenty of space to play). Instead, she’s complicated and cautious, a believer of the supernatural but never enough to cloud her judgement. She’s sharp, smart, and never afraid to demand what she wants. It’s unsurprising as Mosaku stuns in the 2020 horror film His House, so it’s about time she gets a role like this. Oh, and I’d watch an entire prequel about Lindo’s Delta Slim and his adventures around the Delta, chugging whiskey and tickling those ivory keys.
The biggest stumbling block for Sinners, though, is an ending that goes almost too off-the-rails in a way that feels influenced by studio notes to make a very obvious statement about race relations in America. The entire film is steeped in politics with Coogler never letting the viewer forget what this community fears most. Even the vampire is a white man single-handedly trying to destroy a Black community. And while Coogler includes the bloodsucker’s experience with colonial violence in Ireland, he’s still making a statement about how the oppressed can be oppressors, especially in a racial hierarchy like the one in the United States.
That’s why the ending feels tacked on rather than a satisfying conclusion to Coogler’s vision. He’s working on so many levels throughout Sinners that the final act feels like it belongs in another movie. Thankfully it doesn’t overshadow the preceding excellence; it merely ends the film on a single sour note (a post credits scene does function as a balm on this particular wound).
While Sinners trips over its feet when it comes to its final message (Should we turn away from sin? Or should we embrace it?), there’s no denying that this is Coogler’s finest work to date. This is a horror blockbuster with a story worth telling and a bloody, beating heart that douses the audience with arterial spray. It’s visceral, mean, horny, and ready to rip out your throat while singing a strange song. Sinners has never made sin look or sound so good. Now, Mr. Coogler, please start working on another horror movie!
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Sinners (2025)
Summary
Sinners is visceral, mean, horny, and ready to rip out your throat while singing a strange song. Sin has never looked or sounded so good.
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