After watching the new movie “Sinners,” I can say with absolute certainty that it is the best movie I have seen all year.
Director Ryan Coogler offers an interesting take on the horror genre that leaves a bit of a pleasant undertone.
You would think that a movie with vampires killing people wouldn’t leave that kind of feeling, but Coogler made it possible.
Coogler in the past directed movies such as the “Black Panther” series and the first “Creed” movie.
The movie takes place during the Jim Crow era in the South and follows a young man named Sammie played by Miles Canton who aspires to be a famous musician against his father’s wishes.
He spends most of the movie with his twin cousins, Smoke and Stack, who are both played by Michael B. Jordan.
Jordan did a great job playing the twins and was able to capture a different personality for each twin, making them very distinguishable even though they looked exactly the same.
The majority of the film happens in the course of one night when a vampire outbreak starts at the gig where Sammie was performing and his cousins were hosting.
Because the movie takes place in the South during the 1930s, it is no surprise that there were moments of racist encounters and discrimination, such as white people using the N-word and threatening to kill minorities.
Coogler’s subliminal message of equality is well delivered and he uses the horror of the vampires to deliver that message.
The vampires in the film are musical vampires who lure people with music and dance in order to make them turn.
There was a scene after the outbreak started where the vampires were all dancing together outside, trying to convince the survivors in the bar to join them.
In the scene, there were many vampires of different races dancing. It was the first time that the characters' racial identity didn’t matter because they were all vampires who loved music.
I find it ironic that Coogler used such a gruesome method to convey a beautiful message. The vampires would bite people in a very violent manner, but when they turned they were happy and carefree.
The film also featured Hailee Steinfeld, whose acting was impressive in the movie.
Her Southern accent sounded so believable and fit with the time period.
She played Mary, the love interest of Stack, who ultimately became a vampire in the film.
Mary was bit when the first vampires lured her into a sense of security by talking about music and performing for her.
She bit Stack when she came to the bar because no one knew that she had been bitten
After Sammie survived the night thanks to his cousin Smoke, he went on to become the musician he aspired to be.
I liked how Coogler brought the audience up to speed with what happened in the beginning because the movie starts with Sammie walking into his father's church all bloody with a broken guitar in his hand.
From there it cuts to his successful music career after his father gives him the ultimatum of church or music.
As for Stack, he didn’t make it through the night after Mary bit him.
Because vampires supposedly live forever, the two pay Sammie a visit in his old age and the three of them reminisce about the night of the gig, saying that it was the best night of their lives and they would relive it again.
Although Stack was a vampire who wanted to infect more people, he remembered his cousin enough to share a heartfelt moment with him, which was a wholesome moment.
It’s interesting that the main characters found nostalgia and reminiscence in an event that most people would find horrifying.
From my point of view, Sinners was a very different take on a common movie genre, which is what makes it stand out.
Most horror movies feel scary or leave the audience with some sort of uneasiness, but I didn't get that with this movie.
The movie got a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, according to a webpage from the movie review site, and for good reason.
Despite personally not being a big fan of horror movies, I really enjoyed watching “Sinners” and would definitely watch it again.
The music and plot were well put together and the movie also features San Jose Staté alumnus Omar Benson Miller, who plays Cornbread, a comic-relief character.
Coogler also did a good job balancing humor, horrorand historical realism without one overshadowing the other.
While 2025 is far from over, this movie is at the top of my list for releases this year.
