Jay Rohr
Sinners has some serious bite. Steeped in historical horrors, this fright flick courtesy of writer-director Ryan Coogler is a devilish mix of pulpy action alongside poignant drama. It all amalgamates into potent nightmare fuel blending the supernatural with the very real evils of existence. The only shame is a few uneven moments keeping the movie from being perfect.
Notorious twin brothers, Smoke and Stack, both played by Michael B. Jordan (Creed) have returned home to the rural South. Flush with cash and bootleg Prohibition booze, they open a juke joint intended to cater to African American clientele. Recruiting their young cousin for entertainment, this blues virtuoso helps set the night on fire. Unfortunately, his singular talents attract the attention of a passing vampire. It isn’t long before a frightful horde of fanged foes, some of whom used to be friends, are baying for blood. And there’s no promise anyone will survive the long dark hours ahead.
Sinners is wonderfully set in a grim period. The Jim Crow-era South provides its own unique horror in conjunction with the supernatural which ensues. There’s never a sense of safety for any of the main characters. Even without the undead, the all too real dangers of racism constantly hang overhead.
If one happened to start watching this without any foreknowledge of its vampire horror, Sinners might simply seem like a period piece. The opening of the film is a marvelous drama about World War I veterans turned into criminals, who return home to open a roadhouse. It easily seems like a Prohibition era tale of the African American experience that’s captivating across the board. Getting to know the various main characters is so expertly done and thoroughly entertaining, with Coogler smoothly injecting historical details, the only downside is how little of that attention went into developing the main villain.
Remmick, played by Jack O’Connell (’71), is a tad generic. In a movie where everyone’s motivations are clear and compelling, his vague intentions have to do with the mystical potential of music. One could argue he’s a metaphor for populism, promising everyone he’ll satisfy their needs while only using them for his self-interests. However, overall, he’s simply a bloodsucker that permits Sinners to pivot from period piece drama to action horror hybrid. Fortunately, Remmick’s stylization, from his more unnatural appearance to his behavior, is captivating enough on their own.
Music is a wonderfully utilized aspect of Sinners. The soundtrack adds life to the film in a way too many features have failed. Sinners would lack a certain flavor without it, especially since music is central to the narrative.
Metaphorically it’s a connection linking the past and present. Sammie Moore’s blues have magickal properties that pierce the veil between realities. This is wonderfully depicted by a surreal display of sight and sound showing how art and history blend to tell the tale of a people. Sinners marvelously showcases how important culture is to human experience and how the byproduct of social interactions, positive and negative, produce it; the blues didn’t develop in a vacuum, and it feeds the future of music as well as the soul.
None of this would be possible without quality performances. Michael B. Jordan benefits from excellent costume design to help differentiate the twins, but he also adds touches of his own to keep their personalities distinct. In his first feature performance, Miles Caton expertly inhabits the role of Sammie “Preacher Boy” Moore. His musical prowess matches his ability to present a gifted young man unaware how dark the world can get. Wunmi Mosaku (Lovecraft Country) is fabulous as a Hoodoo practitioner but more so as someone reunited with a lost lover.
It’s oddly almost a shame when the vampires show up. That isn’t to say the thrills aren’t there when they do. Rather, Sinners simplifies hitting some predictable plot points. Fortunately, the film makes every loss potent thanks to the well-established characters. Part of the horror here is losing characters the audience cares about.
Meanwhile, Coogler doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel. Instead of composing a unique vampire mythology, he leans into conventional lore which saves time. The creatures don’t require much, if any, explanation. Consequently, Sinners gets right to building suspense. Several scenes have a wonderful tension, especially when the audience knows more than the main characters. The film then uses this pressure cooker premise to build to an eruption of violence.
At risk of spoilers, instead of a multitude of combat encounters the action is mainly centered around one primary event. Chaotic yet wonderfully choreographed, the ensuing bloody carnage is an overwhelming gory instant. If there’s a complaint one could make, it’s that this stylized violence is almost over too soon. The movie spends so much time building to this climax the brevity can be a bit disappointing. Perhaps that’s because so much is happening all at once it’s easy to miss some moments. Fortunately, the finale is as visually stunning as it is grotesque.
The sense of horror that saturates Sinners is one of its constant strengths. Whether pulling from folklore, suspenseful vampire interactions, or the hideous history of racism the movie is permeated by an overarching sense of evil. Even without the supernatural other monsters are lurking, looking for any excuse to brutalize the main characters. And the personalities populating this picture are products of that looming dread. Each tackling it in their own way.
Ryan Coogler does a splendid job getting his audience to connect with the main characters. That gives viewers stakes as they worry what will happen to everyone involved. No one is safe and it hurts to lose who dies. At the same time, Sinners never shies from dumping buckets of blood when the nightmare kicks off. I’m happy to say this is another superb fright flick ushering horrifying vampires back onto the screen. Although the latter portion feels a tad shallower than the opening act, Sinners closes with bloody fun. Audiences will cheer when these nightmare creatures go down.
