Kendrick Lamar and Sza’s song ‘Luther’ which made up part of the already iconic performance at the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime show (they also performed All the Stars from Black Panther) expresses a similar sentiment to Ryan Coogler’s audacious and gory genre-defying Southern gothic horror, Sinners. In that song, which samples the Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn 1980s duet, the lyrics: “If this world was mine, I’d take your dreams and make ’em multiply” expresses a romantic desire for what could be possible if it weren’t for societal oppression and restraints.
That song is also a great example of collaboration and connection within culture, with the past converging with the future and soul music history linking with modern rap. This is one of the many ideas that Coogler toys with in his layered, funny and menacing depiction of the Delta Mississippi, 1932 where twin brothers, and gangsters, Smoke and Stack (Michael B. Jordan in an impressively nuanced dual performance) attempt to set up a joyful juke joint in an unjust world rife with racism and persecution. The pair spend much of their time bargaining and battling in a literal and existential sense, feeding into the film’s themes of rejection or acceptance of oneself and assimilation.
Newcomer Miles Caton (a gospel singer) plays Blues musician Sammie Moore and cousin to Smoke and Stack, who entice him to perform at their bar along with Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo as an alcoholic who delivers on emotional gut punches and comic relief). The twins also enlist the help of the Chinese community, Lisa (Li Jun Li) and Bo(Yao), Hoodoo priestess, Annie (Wunmie Mosaku) and multiracial childhood friend and old flame Mary (Hailee Steinfeld). When cult-like vampires, led by Remmick (Jack O’ Connell) appear at their door, a tense survive until dawn narrative, in the style of John Carpenter’s The Thing or George Romero‘s Night of the Living Dead unravels. It’s a film so viscerally shot and effervescent with a blistering, perpetual score by Ludwig Göransson, and sizzling cinematography by Autumn Durald Arkapaw you can almost smell the sex and sweat dripping from the ceiling of the juke joint.
Coogler spends quite a bit of time building character, atmosphere and toying with the vampire myth in a unique way so that when all hell is finally unleashed, it’s both a rousing and compelling experience. He goes for broke in the finale and it’s a real hoot, with Western-style shootouts, vivid Blues singing and dancing, hand-to-hand combat and even a vampire cèilidh! Maybe it all doesn’t entirely land, but the way Coogler and his team handle the IMAX cameras and disorientating experimental shots makes it a whole lotta fun to watch.
Sinners has a distinct visual language, full of nods to historical events, where glowing embers float in the night sky to lead the viewer on a wildly exciting, intense and compelling journey through the Mississippi Delta Blues.
Sinners is in UK cinemas 18th April
