Ryan Coogler has done it once again. Sinners, his latest film starring Michael B. Jordan, hasn’t been out for a week yet, and it’s already smashing the box office wide open. We’re not surprised, though. Coogler is a phenomenal director, and his films push the boundaries. He is unafraid to show us the not-so-nice parts of ourselves or the world. We already know that he’s an Auteur and has delivered some great films in the Marvel Universe, like Black Panther, and he’s tackled several true stories, such as Judas and the Black Messiah and Fruitvale Station. And now with Sinners, he’s letting us know that he can also bring it with horror.
Set in 1932, Sinners tells the story of twin brothers Smoke and Stack, played by Michael B. Jordan. Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, the brothers return to their hometown of Mississippi to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil awaits them. There were so many things to love about Sinners. I feel like I can’t say enough about it. But I will try to sum it all up with this review.
NOTE: Major Spoilers Ahead.
Michael B. Jordan
Michael B. Jordan has always been a favorite of mine. I think he is immensely talented, and it’s evident that Ryan Coogler also believes so. Most people who are fans of Coogler and Jordan are well aware that Sinners is not their first time working together. The duo has teamed up on Fruitvale Station, Creed, and Black Panther. The moment we got our first glimpse of Smoke and Stack, they had my attention. Pulling off a dual role takes a lot of work, and Jordan nailed it. Both brothers have vastly different personalities. The mannerisms are different, their accents and inflections, even their teeth. The drama they brought was also different.
Smoke is the more level-headed twin who thinks before acting, whereas Stack is more impulsive. Though he and Smoke had their fair share of disagreements, their bond, especially the twin bond, was portrayed authentically. Throughout the film, Jordan presented two different people with two different lives. Smoke is a man still grieving the loss of his baby girl while also trying to prove to Annie (Wunmi Mosaku), the mother of his child, that he’s worthy of her love. Smoke had a gentleness and a strong sense of being everyone’s protector, including Stack.
With Stack, Jordan played him with a sense of freedom in some ways because that’s who Stack is. He’s the jokester and the more mischievous one. He’s also a player who had an unexpected run-in with Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), a white-passing young woman he had a fling with after her mother took them in when their father died. Despite all this, he still had a genuine heart and cared deeply for his brother. What I loved even more was that in the end, when all was said and done, they each made some significant sacrifices for the other.
The Story
When Smoke and Stack left Chicago and returned to Mississippi, they had money, booze, and a dream. After purchasing an old saw mill from Hogwood (David Maldonado), a white man in town, they turned it into their own Juke joint. When securing the deal with Hogwood, they had a particular rule: If anyone from the Ku Klux Klan showed up on their property, they would kill them. To which Hogwood replied, “The Klan doesn’t exist anymore.” The Klan doesn’t exist anymore? In 1932? Yeah, sure…
Smoke and Stack set all of that aside, and with their Irish beer and Italian wine ready to go, they gathered the masses to make the Juke joint’s grand opening the same night they bought it. It’s a rush job, for sure, but it also speaks to the resilience and ingenuity of Black people. Smoke wasn’t ready to open up the juke joint so quickly. As I said, he’s the more level-headed of the brothers, but because he saw the gleam of excitement in Stacks’ eyes, he couldn’t refuse.
One of the most essential elements to any club is good music. That’s where the twins’ young cousin Sammie (Miles Caton) came in. Sammie, AKA “Preacher Boy,” surprised Stack with his fantastic singing and guitar playing skills. Sammie wants to be like his cousins and desperately wants a future that doesn’t include working in the field as a sharecropper. Or even being a minister like his father. He’s also got big dreams, and for him, playing music at his cousin’s new club sounded like a plan. After tracking down Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo), another talented bluesman, Stack knew he and Smoke were in for a big payday.
All Money Comes With Blood
As the Juke joints’ grand opening is underway, unbeknownst to all the party-goers, there’s a sinister threat in Remmick (Jack O’Connell), a vampire seeking to reshape the world as he sees fit. The twins’ place and Sammie’s powerful guitar playing lure Remmick along with his buddies Bert (Peter Dreimanis) and Joan (Lola Kirke) over, and he immediately finds something he wants. It’s in these moments that Coogler taps into and does not shy away from the metaphor of white people seeking to take and appropriate things from the Black community. Remmick literally tells Sammie, “I want your songs. I want your stories.”
Remmick tries to lure those still standing to come to his side when the big showdown occurs. He reveals to the group that a deadly plan was being concocted with something none could have imagined. And it was a reveal that had me sitting in my seat, eyes glued to the screen. It was a horror far more unimaginable than vampires, and that’s saying something.
The Respect For The Past
One thing about Ryan Coogler is that he always does his homework. When creating any film, he does the research needed to bring his vision to life in the best way possible. With Sinners, because of the time period and the location, this needed to be done from a place of realism. That’s probably strange when speaking about a horror film with vampires. But since watching Sinners, I have been devouring every piece of information and every detail.
For instance, Bo (Yao) and Grace (Li) Chow were a Chinese couple who owned the local grocery store. Stack stopped by to order supplies and signs for the Juke joint. I learned that there was a cultural consultant on set named Dolly Li. She did a documentary on the Mississippi Delta Chinese who lived in the Jim Crow era alongside Black people. During that time, Chinese people’s grocery stores were frequented by Black people. Until watching Sinners, I was completely unaware of this.
There were several, and I mean several, nods to history, but none stood out more than the one during Sammie’s performance.
The Music in Sinners
Behind every great film is a great soundtrack, and Sinners has that thanks to the collaboration between skilled composer Ludwig Goransson and Coogler. The music is powerful and tells a story in itself. As Sammie is onstage performing, something shifts, and as the music builds, there are several shifts in tone. We’re treated to a montage showcasing how Black music and culture have transcended all timelines. My jaw dropped because I could not believe what I was seeing. The entire scene brought tears to my eyes, and all I thought was, if Coogler doesn’t take home something come Oscar season, I truly won’t understand. The sequence was a cinematic masterpiece that was completely unexpected.
That sequence and the beauty of it and how it appeared onscreen were thanks to the extremely talented Director of Photography, Autumn Durald Arkapaw. She’s known for shooting film on IMAX, and I can truly say she does not miss! Her frames are incredible and a sight to behold. She also needs to go home with something, come award season.
With Sinners, I feel like I truly didn’t cover everything, but that’s because it’s a two-hour film with so much going on. There are so many details to catch, and I think this is one of those films that I will continue to watch and discover new things each time. If you are a fan of the horror genre and great storytelling, I highly recommend giving Sinners a watch. It’s truly one of the best films of 2025.
Other Thoughts
- The metaphors in this film were metaphoring. Yes, I know that’s not a real word.
- “You keep dancing with the devil, one day he’s gonna follow you home.”
- Delroy Lindo’s performance as Slim, recalling his friends’ lynching, was painful and a true representation of the way Black people channel their pain and anger into music.
- The Native American Vampire slayers tried to warn Joan and Bert… Oh well.
- I really would have loved to see the Native American Vampire Slayers pop up again in the film.
- Annie and her paranormal skills. Girl, we love you.
- Grace, even though you did what you did, you are still awesome, and we understand.
- I actually shouted in the theater, “NO!” when Grace did what she did. True story.
- “Just eat the garlic!”
- Sammie recognized that Mary was part black. Accurate moment.
- Oh Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary!
- “The best thing about me was him.”
- “For a few hours we were free.” THE PAIN!!!!!!
- The vampires were river dancing. Only Ryan Coogler.
- That second showdown.
- Grab this soundtrack IMMEDIATELY!
Sinners is in theaters now.
