Sinners is the latest movie from the legendary director, Michael Coogler. It takes place in 1932, where two twin brothers throw a party, and one Irish vampire decides to crash it. This movie is probably the best movie to come out of this year in my opinion, every aspect of it, from the cast, to the writing, to its music all work perfectly together, creating a bloody, well-written, and stylish movie that I think is a strong Oscar contender.
The story follows twin gangsters named Smoke (played by Michael B. Jordan) and Stack (also Michael B. Jordan), as they decide to make a juke joint for their local community. Meanwhile, two Klan members take in a strange man, burning in the sun. The thing that really differentiates Sinners from every other vampire movie, is that it has a bunch of other supernatural elements that complement the vampire part, namely, the emphasis on music. The twins’ cousin, Sammie, is a talented musician who plays at the joint, and when he plays, the movie really starts getting weird. Sammie’s music is so good, that it transcends time and space, and it causes one of, if not my favorite, sequences in film.
The music morphs into different eras in black music: blues, hip-hop, traditional African music, even futuristic music that hasn’t been made yet, and the music accompanies an extra-long shot inside the joint, as artists from the past, present and future all hit a jig. The strange man burning in the sun was an Irish vampire named Remmick, who noticed the song, and decided to chime in with some music of his own. But when he comes to the party, Remmick lets his urges take over, and the party soon turns sour.
That’s all the story I’m going to tell you, because I really recommend that you experience this movie firsthand. Its story is definitely great, but it isn’t its greatest strength. At times, the movie can move a little too fast for my liking, and I wouldn’t exactly say the ending is great either, (but that’s somewhat because I accidentally walked out before the post-credits scene, don’t miss it) as I found it kind of confusing, but also because I didn’t want the movie to end. One particular nitpick I have with the movie is how fast characters are introduced and die. There is a character who is in every single piece of promotional material, has the most interesting backstory and performance, but is literally the first main character to go.
This film’s score is some of the best I’ve ever heard, and you could even go so far as to say that this movie is a musical in some parts. Most of the main cast are musicians at the juke joint, who get plenty of screentime to have their own musical number. These segments of the film really showcase their personalities, as well as their talents as performers. And while everyone is crowded around the performance, the vampires start turning people, in gruesome scenes that really take advantage of the attachment we built to that character, in the small moments we had with them before.
Sinners is my personal favorite movie to come out of 2025, as it is unapologetically original, fun to watch, and stylistically bold in every way. Sinners maxes out on style, but never skimps on substance.
