Horror Movie Review: Sinners

It takes a deep-rooted visionary to pierce through the heart and soul of society the way Ryan Coogler just did with Sinners. In his fifth film working with Michael B. Jordan, he again delivers. A film steeped heavily in a singular culture; one might expect the reach be limited to a minority. They'd be wrong. This film is breaking records, and breaking barriers.

Sinners is a period piece set in the South during the Jim Crow Era. The story centers on mysterious twin brothers, Smoke and Stack, who return home to Mississippi to start up a juke joint. On the juke's opening night, the crowd encounters a sinister presence. Vampires to be exact.

Now, these aren't your standard vampires. They do still hate garlic, wooden stakes, and the sun, but their ancestry is unique. Had Coogler chose to depict the vampires as standard white folks, there'd be no empathy. The villain would be too one-dimensional. So, the vampires were written to be Irishmen. Why do you ask? Well, similar to African American's, the Irish had a tumultuous start in the new world. Initially brought to the colonies as indentured servants, the Irish experienced segregation of their own. Thanks to their whiteness, they were able to assimilate into American culture over time. Blacks were not.

So, it's not just black and white. This is the allure of the vampire. During the final act as the humans get killed one by one, we discover the vampires are one people. There is no color or creed. They know everything about each other. Memories, relationships, hardships, successes... it's all shared. Oh, and you live forever, free to do as you please. Not a bad deal if you ask me.

Yet, human nature tells us to fight. To keep going till the bitter end. That's Smoke in this story. When it's just him and blues player Sammie at the end, he seems to accept the idea of death. He becomes free in a sense from the troubles of life, same as the newly converted vampires. Sammie, the blues playing cousin of Smoke and Stack, also has a choice to make: Go home to his religious, reserved life, or chase his dream of becoming a renowned blues player. They both have upside.

What I appreciate most here is how Coogler explores racial and social themes during the course of the film. He does so with such care; telling us how it is, without telling us how we ought to be. That's because it's up to us. We make that decision, and we must live with it. In terms of visual style, Sinners has got it all. From sprawling shots of cotton fields to slick montages, it's a true feast for the eyes to see. Oh, and not to mention, Michael B. Jordan is put on screen twice. He's Smoke and he's Stack. He's Smokestack. And my word does it look convincing.

I'd be remiss to not bring up the wonderful display of Black culture and music. I personally felt transported to a different time, with a new sense of existence listening to Sammie play. His soulful tone strong enough to tug at any man's heart strings.

Music is totally and completely human, race and color aside. It connects us in ways nothing else can. Sinners was here to remind us of that.

What'd you think of Sinners?

5/5