Sinners
Genre: Horror, Drama, Thriller
Directed by: Ryan Coogler
Starring: Michael B Jordan, Miles Caton, Hailee Steinfeld, Wunmi Mosaku
Release Date: April 18, 2025
Platform: Theater
Rating: 5/5
By Crystal Justine
“Coogler conjured an experience. One that seduces you, devours you, and leaves you changed.”
In an era where the big screen is saturated with franchises, sequels, and cinematic universes, SINNERS arrives like a reckoning—a sensual, spiritual, and cinematic revival. Directed by Ryan Coogler, this supernatural horror-thriller set in 1930s Mississippi doesn’t just entertain, it enchants, confronts, and transcends. It’s the kind of movie that reminds you of why cinema exists in the first place: to move, awaken, and haunt.
At its core, SINNERS is about twin brothers, Smoke and Stack, both played with soul-splitting precision by Michael B. Jordan. Jordan’s dual performance is a masterclass in embodiment. He gives each brother distinct mannerisms, tones, emotional rhythms. It’s easy to forget you’re watching the same actor. But this is far more than a dual role gimmick. Smoke and Stack are visual metaphors in motion, right down to the colors they wear. Coogler weaves in quiet symbolism throughout, layered meanings in everything from wardrobe to dialogue that reward a second (and third) viewing.
SINNERS is more than a character study or genre piece. It’s an experience steeped in culture.
Set in Clarksdale, Mississippi—the birthplace of the blues—the film reverently honors the South’s deep, painful, and powerful musical history. The movie pulses with original compositions from Oscar-winner Ludwig Göransson (Oppenheimer, Black Panther), whose score aches, howls, and hypnotizes. It’s not simply the orchestration, it’s the soul. SINNERS includes music legend Buddy Guy. Watching him play in this film feels like witnessing history breathe. His guitar isn’t just an instrument, it’s a vessel. The film doesn’t just feature the blues; it understands the blues.
And then, there’s THAT scene. The one where music, dance, color, history and emotion collide in a fever-dream swirl of beauty and culture. It’s a transcendent moment in cinematic history. Every beat, every movement, every visual feels engraved into your bones. It’s a scene that will stay with you, etched in your memory, like a song you don’t want to stop playing.
Ryan Coogler doesn’t just tell a story, he builds a layered, symbolic world. One that highlights the Black experience in the Jim Crow South, but also boldly includes Chinese immigrants and the Irish, both of whom were navigating their own forms of oppression during that time. The choice to make the vampires Irish isn’t random—it’s a powerful, subversive decision. Rather than lean into tired Transylvanian tropes, Coogler grounds his vampires in the legacy of cultural parasitism. These vampires aren’t hideous monsters hiding in castles. They’re charismatic, intelligent, and manipulatively charming. They smile before they bite. As a metaphor, they’re brilliant, embodying the seductive, parasitic way Black culture has been repeatedly appropriated and consumed without credit or care.
Yet despite these heavy themes, SINNERS is also thrilling, sexy, and wildly entertaining. The film balances weight and whimsy with grace. The entire ensemble shines with Hailee Steinfeld, Delroy Lindo, Li Jun Li, Wunmi Mosaku, Jack O’Connell, and breakout talent Michael Caton, whose vocals summon the divine. Every performance hums with authenticity.
Visually, SINNERS is a work of art. Shot on 70mm IMAX cameras by Autumn Durald Arkapaw, who is the first woman ever to shoot a theatrical feature in this format. The cinematography is lush, layered, and lyrical. It’s not just pretty, it’s purposeful. Every frame is intentional from the vastness of the cotton fields to the tiny town where the audience gets to move with a character for a fantastically shot oner. SINNERS is a Southern Gothic dreamscape giving moody, immersive, and alive.
SINNERS is unlike anything else in theaters. It’s original, it’s rich in symbolism, and it’s saturated in culture. In a world hooked on remakes and reboots, this is the kind of bold storytelling that deserves to be championed. And it must be seen in theaters—preferably in IMAX—to fully absorb its visual splendor and depth.
Support this movie. Support original cinema. Support movie theaters. SINNERS is time and money well spent. You’ll leave the theater with chill bumps on your skin and the blues echoing through your bones. Coogler didn’t just make a film. He conjured an experience. One that seduces you, devours you, and leaves you changed.
