After deliver two “Black Panther” films for Marvel and netting the studio its first Best Picture Oscar nomination, Ryan Coogler is hanging his hat at Warner Bros. with “Sinners.” The filmmaking on display is a mesmerizing triumph of ambitions plotting, camera work, and production design as well delve into a richly textured Southern Gothic experience. Breathing fresh life into vampire mythology, it’s a genre-elevating experience that weaves together horror, music, and social commentary with Oscar-caliber skillfulness.
Before diving into the full story and review, let’s dive in with the trailer.
In Depression-era Mississippi, 1932, identical twin brothers and WWI veterans Elijah “Smoke” and Elias “Stack” Moore (both played by Michael B. Jordan) return to Clarksdale after years working for Chicago mobsters. Using stolen gangster money, they purchase a sawmill from local racist landowner Hogwood (David Maldonado) and transform it into a juke joint for the Black community.
Their musically gifted cousin Sammie “Preacher Boy” Moore (Miles Caton) joins the venture despite warnings from his pastor father Jedidiah (Saul Williams) that blues music harbors supernatural forces. The brothers assemble their staff: piano man Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo), captivating singer Pearline (Jayme Lawson) who catches Sammie’s eye, Smoke’s estranged wife Annie (Wunmi Mosaku) as cook, Chinese merchants Grace and Bo Chow (Li Jun Li and Yao) as suppliers, and the imposing Cornbread (Omar Miller) for security.
Meanwhile, Stack reconnects with his former flame Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), who passes for white and harbors resentment toward Stack for abandoning her years ago. Tension builds between Smoke and Annie over her occult practices—she insists her rituals protected the twins during their dangerous Chicago years, while he bitterly reminds her they couldn’t save their infant daughter. Elsewhere, Irish vampire Remmick (Jack O’Connell) flees Choctaw vampire hunters, violently turning a married pair of Klansmen (Peter Dreimanis and Lola Kirke) into his first minions.
On opening night, Sammie’s extraordinary guitar playing unknowingly summons spirits past and future, creating a transcendent atmosphere that draws Remmick’s attention. When the vampire and his growing entourage arrive offering money for entry, the suspicious twins hesitate. Mary meets Remmick outside and is transformed, returning to seduce and bite Stack. Though Smoke shoots her, ordinary bullets prove useless as she escapes while Stack dies. Cornbread is similarly attacked and turned.
As patrons flee, the vampires attack them, including Bo Chow. Stack resurrects as a vampire but is repelled by Annie’s quick thinking with pickled garlic juice. She explains that only sunlight, silver, or wooden stakes can kill vampires, who cannot enter buildings uninvited. Unable to breach the bar, Remmick negotiates from outside—praising Sammie’s supernatural talent and offering immortality as escape from racism’s oppression. He also warns that Hogwood’s Klan plans a dawn raid. When refused, Remmick threatens Grace’s daughter Lisa (Helena Hu), pushing the desperate mother to invite the vampires inside.
The ensuing battle claims Grace, Annie, and Delta Slim. Mary, shaken by Annie’s death, flees. As Smoke, Sammie, and Pearline attempt escape, they’re ambushed by Remmick and Stack. The brothers fight brutally while Sammie and Pearline confront Remmick. After Pearline is bitten, Sammie smashes his guitar over Remmick’s head before Smoke arrives to finish him with a stake. At sunrise, the vampire horde burns to ash. Smoke sacrifices himself ambushing Hogwood’s Klan, dying after experiencing a vision of Annie and their daughter. Grief-stricken Sammie rejects his father’s pleas to renounce music.
Sixty years later, an ageless Stack and Mary visit elderly Sammie (Buddy Guy), now a celebrated Chicago bluesman. Stack reveals that Smoke spared him that night, demanding only that Sammie live in peace. Though offered immortality, Sammie declines, reflecting that despite the horror that night brought, until sunset, it was his greatest day. Stack agrees—it was his last glimpse of Smoke, his final day in the sun, and his only true taste of freedom.
As writer and director, Ryan Coogler reteams with cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw , composer Ludwig Göransson, and star Michael B. Jordan who delivers a career-defining dual performance as twins Smoke and Stack Moore. Jordan excels when creating these two distinctly charismatic characters who return to their Delta hometown. Jordan’s powerful portrayal showcases his tremendous range, cementing the Jordan-Coogler partnership as one of contemporary cinema’s most exciting collaborations.
The film truly soars in its spectacular musical sequences, particularly a transcendent scene where Miles Caton’s Sammie creates a stunning temporal bridge between past and future Black musical traditions. Coogler’s camera work during these moments achieves a visual poetry that elevates the entire production, demonstrating his growth as a visual storyteller.
While some might find the film’s too ambitious, Coogler should be celebrated for his bold approach in an era that sees very few directors given the budgetary and creative freedom to pursue such art. Coogler balances the intimate character moments with sweeping historical context, creating a work that resonates both emotionally and intellectually… if only Chadwick Boseman were around to play within this engrossing world.
“Sinners” triumphs with its creative risks, the work of this brilliant cast, and all the below the line artists who will be up for Oscars come early next year. This is the most unforgettable cinematic experience of 2025 and seems unlikely to be dethroned.
Letter Grade: A+