Sinners (2025)

Director: Ryan Coogler

Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Miles Caton, Saul Williams, Wunmi Mosaku

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.

‘Sinners’ is a unique film in the sense that this blues-infused film is part vampire horror, part period drama, and part musical.

Michael B. Jordan stars as twins Smoke and Stack, and I must confess to getting confused between the two characters – especially with them being so alike. Only much later in the film could I distinguish between them – for obvious reasons, but I won’t go into spoilers.

It is 1932 and Smoke and Stack return to their hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi, where they plan on opening a blues club. Their cousin Sammie (Miles Caton) loves to play the guitar, and he’s a great singer too. The film takes a very long time setting up the characters, with Smoke recruiting performers for the club. I did find it a bit too slow – especially considering this to be a horror film. In fact, the film only shifts into second gear after the 40-minute mark, and then it resorts to drama again for the next 30 minutes. This film could easily have been much shorter. Being a horror film, it shouldn’t take that long to introduce the characters.

Once the vampire action starts, though, it doesn’t let go, so at least the final hour was fast-paced and exciting. (If I were to watch the movie again, I’d skip the first 40 minutes). It was nice to see Wunmi Mosaku (who really impressed me in ‘His House’) here as Smoke’s girlfriend, Annie, and she once again delivered a very good performance.

Set in 1932 with a predominantly black cast, it was refreshing to experience a film of this genre without any racism. There were a few black/white remarks, but it was very subtle and kept to the minimum without ever offending either Ethnicity, and this made for a pleasant watch.

‘Sinners’ is a beautifully filmed movie with stunning wide angle shots. I loved the background effects during scenes characters were driving in a car. The obvious fake background was reminiscent of the 60’s movies. Being a film set in a vintage era, I’m not sure whether this was done intentionally (for effect), or just a case of ‘bad’ CGI that actually looks good!

With a good script, good performances, great costumes and make-up, and the stunning cinematography, I’m sure ‘Sinners’ will get a couple of Oscar nods. The musical segments were also beautiful, making this an unusual and fresh vampire horror.

‘Sinners’ was a box office success, earning $342 million on a $90 million budget.

Would I watch it again? Maybe.