Ryan Coogler delivers one of the cinematic standouts of 2025
In just over a decade, Ryan Coogler has made a tangible imprint on cinema. His 2013 breakout feature Fruitville Station delivered a sobering immersion in the horrifying murder of a young black man by transit police in Oakland, California. He went on to build atop the storied Rocky franchise with one of his own in 2015’s Creed. He also added a tangible burst of color and culture to the increasingly drab Marvel Cinematic Universe with his 2018 take on Black Panther. Sinners is perhaps his most ambitious film yet, continuing to delve into his longstanding interests in race, culture, and family, but along with a heavy tilt into genre fare with it’s use of vampiric mythology.
Set in the 1930s, we meet the brooding Smoke and charming Stack, twin brothers both played by Coogler’s longtime collaborator Michael B Jordan. The pair have made out like bandits after time spent in Chicago, lining their pockets with cash, and the back of a truck with alcohol. Their plan is to setup a black-owned and operated juke-joint in their hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi. Back home, they loop in their young cousin Sammie (a truly compelling debut performance from musician Miles Caton). The son of a local preacher, looking to walk the darker road trod by his cousins as a way to explore his musical talents. They also bring aboard local blues legend Delta Slim (another gruffly and twinkling turn from Delroy Lindo) to add an air of legitimacy. Connections to their past emerge too, with Smoke’s former love Annie (a potent performance from Wunmi Mosaku), while Stack (Elijah) reconnects with Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), a former lover whose own racial identity adds yet more layers as well as commentary on the positives and perils of “passing” in a segregated world. An emotional return home paving the way for the highs of their opening night, which quickly gives way to sorrow. Sammie’s musical gift doesn’t just bring together their community, it also draws in a darkness. Seeking entry is Jack O’Connell’s Remmic (Jack O’Connell in fine form), an Irish traveler looking join these folk inside the juke joint in order to satisfy his own thirst for connection.
The film blends genre thrills and American/African folklore with the raw historical realities of the Jim Crow South. The hint of vampire hunting Choctaw Natives is a thrilling concept in itself, but also adds another aspect of immigration and colonization to the mix. As does the portrayal of Remmic as an Irishman. A white man, but a class of citizen often as lower class in this era. Sinners is about belonging, to land, to lineage, to community, and what it costs to preserve those bonds in a world designed to sever them. This is a time and place where the KKK are active and ready to stamp out any ideas of aspiration or success by these brothers and their kin. A more obvious threat, that gives way to something all the more dangerous. An ancient entity looking to expands its grasp, offering peace and community, all for the price of your soul. It’s metaphorical, about the allure of assimilation, the cost of submission, and the seductive pull of giving up one’s cultural identity for perceived safety. The juke joint becomes a site of joy and celebration, yes but also of siege. Reflecting the realities of these enclaves of escape.
Coogler’s world that feels lived-in and spiritual, earthy and unearthly all at once. Shot on lush 70mm film, the cinematography swings from intimate, sweat-slicked interiors to grand, sweeping landscapes. There’s a painterly quality to the visuals, sultry, brooding, immersive, every frame humming with history and heat. The soundscape is equally evocative, with Ludwig Göransson’s score slipping between delta blues, traditional Irish ballads, and bursts of dissonant, almost punk-like energy as the horror begins to take hold. At one point, a stunning musical sequence explodes across the screen, the camera floats as the crowd dances, lost in the sound, their bodies and voices reaching across generations. It’s here that the film reaches its emotional and thematic peak, joy as resistance, rhythm as memory, community as a bulwark against annihilation. Yet this moment, like much in Sinners, carries the shadow of loss. The film understands deeply that Black culture, its music, its spaces, its people, has always been both a source of strength and a target for erasure.
Make no mistake this is a horror film. A bloody, tragic one. A textured and enthralling setup gives way to a sobering and blood-soaked spectacle, one that underscores the weighty themes the film seeks to explore. A film about the price of joy, the fragility (and strength) of Black community, and the quiet, powerful resistance of refusing to become someone else just to stay alive.
The Package
My first viewing of the film was in IMAX and it’s an intensely rich presentation, not just in terms of visuals but also in using the shifting aspect ratios to drive home emotional moments. Obviously a home video release cannot replicate that grandeur, but the Blu-ray of Sinners does a good job of showcasing one of the best looking films you’ll see all year. The detail and range of color palettes impressed, as does the overall smoothness of image. In some of the busier darker sequences a little softness creeps in, but nothing that lasts or impacts a viewing.
The release is pretty stuffed with extra features, all detailed below. The standouts is the making of, which gets into some some revealing information from Coogler about not just his approach, but his intent with the film. The score from Göransson is one of the years best and its great to see that work showcased with a dedicated featurette. The deleted scenes are pretty interesting, totaling around 20 minute, but sadly lack additional commentary to explain their excision.
- Dancing with the Devil: The Making of “Sinners”: Journey with director Ryan Coogler as he makes his most personal and powerful film yet. Featuring Michael B. Jordan and an all-star cast, filmed on location in IMAX, “Sinners” is an original genre-bending experience unlike any other.
- Thicker than Blood: Becoming the Smokestack Twins: Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler take us through the development, creation and portrayal of the Smokestack Twins, revealing how make-up, costumes, and visual effects come together to support these seamless performances.
- Blues in the Night: The Music of “Sinners”: Oscar-winning composer Ludwig Göransson explores the musical landscape of Sinners, including the iconic sounds of the Delta Blues, and the creation and recording of the unique and inspired performances written for the film.
- Spirits in the Deep South: Prof. Yvonne Chireau explores the backdrop of Hoodoo in the deep south and how its beliefs and traditions in spirituality, ancestors, the hereafter, and defense against evil inform the world and characters of “Sinners.”
- The Wages of Sin: The Creature FX of “Sinners”: Creature Makeup FX Designer Mike Fontaine reveals the secrets behind the supernatural horrors that terrorize the Juke, Ryan Coogler’s fresh take on vampires, and the various gore and blood effects used throughout the film.
- Deleted Scenes: Six in total: Jed Sermon and Steal Away, Joan Watched Cornbread, Juke Building Montage, Mary and Annie talk about Gumbo, Sammie and Slim talk at Piano, and Slim Plays My Preachin”
The Bottom Line
Coogler and company have crafted something rare and potent, a horror film with a soul. Sinners is a Southern Gothic fever dream. A visually verdant, and blood-soaked tale of identity, family, and resistance wrapped in the veil of supernatural horror. One of the best films of the year.
Sinners is out on 4K-UHD, Blu-ray, & Digital now
