Sinners (2025)

By: Mike Ward on Friday, April 18

R Running Time: 137 mins

SHOULD I SEE IT?

YES

  • Sinners is the boldest, most audacious studio film of 2025 thus far.

  • Michael B. Jordan as believable twin brothers is one thing, but this cast does not miss. Every significant character is all-in and delivers winning, memorable work.

  • There’s surprises galore in a film that may appear to be a blood-soaked vampire story, but also focuses on temptation, assimilation, the thievery of one’s culture, and the “demons” which haunt us. This is a densely-layered, deeply thought out piece of cinema, showcasing writer/director Ryan Coogler’s best work.

NO

  • The movie does become quite bloody and violent the longer it goes, so caution for the squeamish.

  • With an elongated scene through the end credits and a bit of an extended epilogue, Sinners feels like a film with more than a couple of endings.

  • A gothic horror film, with topical themes and gnarly violence, may feel too ambitious or too heady for fans of the vampire genre.


OUR REVIEW

Through the many twists and turns, Sinners is, perhaps most obviously, a straight-up throat-ripping vampire film. While its premise may remind viewers of Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk ‘Til Dawn, writer/director Ryan Coogler draws viewers in with gothic-inspired horror before introducing more heavier and weightier themes. With Sinners, Coogler, who debuted with 2013’s Fruitvale Station, and then followed with Creed and the Black Panther films, cements his place among the great modern day storytellers.

Coogler has directed five features and Michael B. Jordan has starred in every one. Here, he takes on dual roles as twin brothers Smoke and Stack. Former World War I soldiers and one-time colleagues with Al Capone, the brothers returned home from Chicago to Clarksdale, Mississippi, in 1932. They have purchased a sawmill, and plan to open up a juke joint while throwing a lavish party the night they arrive in Clarksdale.

Set over the course of one long day and night, Sinners looks and feels authentic. Vivid costumes by Oscar-winner Ruth E. Carter, and sets built with creaky floors and wooden walls bring the time period to life. Jordan’s dual performance is seamlessly integrated, from the brothers sharing a cigarette in one scene to inevitable tension later in the film. 

Once home, Smoke reconnects with his estranged wife Annie (Wunmi Mosaku), while Stack is confronted by Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), a former girlfriend still angry over being abandoned when Stack and Smoke cut town. In the film’s first 30-45 minutes, Coogler’s film offers a rhythmic and energetic flow. The brothers are stirring up things, drawing attention, and promising the juke joint will be a place of safety, hospitality, and joy.

Bluesman Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo) is convinced to participate with the promise of money and booze, while local store owners Grace and Bo Chow (Li Jun Li, Yao) agree to assist with food and sign-making.

However, it is Miles Caton, portraying the brothers’ 20-year-old cousin Sammie, who truly is the beating heart of the film. Dubbed “Preacher Boy,” Sammie’s incredible talents as a singer and guitarist rest side-by-side with his desire, passion, and growing rebelliousness. Caton brings emotion and vulnerability to his performance, adding depth and complexity to a film more thoughtful and profound than many may be expecting.

As darkness arrives, a white man named Remmick (Jack O’Connell) first encounters a young white couple (Lola Kirke, Peter Dreimanis). Soon, bonded by blood, they arrive at the juke joint seeking entry. When denied, one character’s decision changes everything.

Visually speaking, Sinners is electric on screen. Cinematographer Autumn David Arkapaw (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, The Last Showgirl) captures small, intimate moments just as effectively as wider, more expansive shots. As the first woman to shoot in 65mm for IMAX, she uses darkness as almost an additional character. Watch how it swirls around everyone, pushing certain guests to the precipice of the doorway. Or how it provides the backdrop for a hunting ground. Or how it can be home to a legion of vampires, coming together to sing an Irish folk song, siren-like, as if to court a sailor.

The horror works. The tension is real. The acting is impressive. And so is the writing. Coogler could likely have gotten by just fine making a straight-up vampire flick. But he has dug much, much deeper. 

Sammie’s story seems to mirror that of Robert Johnson, rumored to have “sold his soul to the devil” to have a successful music career in the 1920s and 1930s. Is Sammie bad for playing guitar? Does failing to abide by his father’s demands make him unholy and a sinner, or just a young man focused on pursuing his dreams?

One astonishing sequence, euphoric in its delivery, showcases a history of Black music, exploding out of the speakers and taking place before our eyes on the dance floor. The energy in those moments are infectious and it speaks to wider concepts like the thievery of culture, for example. 

Yes, Sinners is a vampire movie. But it is also very much a film about generations of Black culture: the fear surrounding it, the erasures from history and the desire of others to seize one’s work and claim it as their own. 

CAST & CREW

Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Delroy Lindo, Jayme Lawson, Omar Benson Miller, Li Jun Li, Yao, Lola Kirke, Peter Dreimanis, Saul Williams, David Maldonado

Director: Ryan Coogler
Written by: Ryan Coogler
Release Date: April 18, 2025
Warner Bros.