SINNERS (2025) MOVIE REVIEW *POSSIBLE SPOILERS*
Delta Blues, Vampirism, Black American soul, and an Irish jig.
(Sinners - 2025)
Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan gave us another amazing cinematic masterpiece. I saw the film twice in one day and still feel like I’ve missed so much due to my amazement.
The hype was already there for me when I saw a Black vampire movie based in the 1930s deep South. The music composition by Ludwig Göransson is what really made me feel like I was in old Mississippi rolling through the back roads by the river. Every person from the sound guys to the costume department and production managers were put together by the grace of God. Had to be! This film had no unnecessary pieces to it that made you question why they were included, it all made sense.
I don’t want to give too many scenes away because this is just the first weekend and people are still needing to see it. But I would love to chat about the messages that rolled into my cranium as I watched the film.
Assimilation
The running theme throughout the movie is the story of the oppressed in the trenches of American life. Black, Asian, and Indigenous communities in the state of Mississippi have a unique history together. All of these communities had to work together to some degree to survive through the peak years of segregation and White supremacy. But each group had their own unique experiences. European settlers had an even more unique way of life in America. Since they weren’t considered “American White,” they still struggled with the sense of community and acceptance from those that looked like them. Ireland’s past of religious colonialism was beautifully written into the movie without really putting a villainous look onto the culture and people but instead making the pain of the past part of the villain’s reason for his actions. It definitely makes you feel kind of sorry for the guy. All he seemed to want was a family that he could love like the one from his original time period…or so we think?
The story of White-passing Black Americans was also touched upon, which I thought was interesting because it was blended in so well. It wasn’t part of the main plot or taking too much time to explain. It was clear, simple, and easy to understand. I think it also parallels with the European settler experience of trying to dip into two worlds simultaneously. Wanting that communal love from one side and socio-economic privilege from the other. Not to say ALL White-passing Black Americans chose that route, but many of them did in the days of Jim Crow. Ryan did a phenomenal job making sure that experience wasn’t too distracting or disrespecting in a way that would send social media into a colorism war for weeks. (I might be speaking too early, though).
The scenes that spoke on the position of Asian Americans in the south being included were surprising. In the movie, Ryan allowed their history within Mississippi to be told with respect, but also the truth. I like that they touched on their history of struggling with racism and xenophobia but also touching on their ability to have some form of safety away from Blackness. There’s a scene where you’re introduced to the Chow’s. They have 2 separate stores on each side of the street—one for Black folks and one for White folks. The shot of them being able to cross from each side to the other without much difficulty was a small detail, yet an important one. Throughout the film, you’re able to see the placement of Asians within the Black community. They brought businesses and skillsets that Black people could work with. But at the end of the day, they did their business and went home.
Soulful Noise
Ryan Coogler expressed his fondness and love for his late Uncle James, who inspired him for this movie. Ryan said, “He passed away right after I was in post-production on ‘Creed’ and all he would do is play blues records.” (Penrice and Brockington, NBC News) His Uncle’s musical influence rings so deep that it vibrates your veins as soon as the movie starts until it ends. Delta Blues is such a staple Black American music genre within our history that should get more acknowledgement from the entertainment industry. Blues, Jazz, Country, and Folk are remnants, ancestorial stories, that connect the Black American journey from coast to coast. They are also elements our ancestors brought with them on the forced journey to Colonial America.
Ludwig did a phenomenal job enhancing scenes by taking up space in the background with instrumentals. There were only a few quiet scenes in this movie without music, and I found that telling. Music is the root of the entire story. From Sammie’s guitar, feet stomping, humming, bass boomin’ tunes, strumming of the banjos, and vocal ensembles. Transitions utilizing music is one of my favorite parts of films. It eases the mind into the next scene, making you wonder what is about to transpire.
You may have seen everyone talking about a particular scene (that I won’t spoil). This scene is the heart of the overall musical element of the entire film. The most notable message about this scene is how it ties the past to the present and future. Many speculate that is what the main antagonist was trying to emulate—the lifting of the veil. If this scene doesn’t encourage award nominations for next year, I don’t know what.
Music is a frequency that invites everyone in. No matter if you’re an Angel from up above or the Devil from down below. Music has a way of lowering the veil and letting spirit into the physical to dance amongst the living. It has a way of letting us time travel, as well. Seeing our ancestors through the lens of sound and beat. Our voices paired with an instrument is a powerful combination that many envy to have, especially if your voice can captivate a crowd. Those who can’t have that talent to invoke spirit from either side will use those who can. The question is are their intentions to exploit or expand to heal with love? This message made me think about the music industry today. We’ve lost so many talented musicians and singers to greed, adultery, consumption, exploitation, exhaustion, and imprisonment. Their gifts locked in the time period where they were captured by whatever outcome they fell to, living and deceased.
Love, Passion, and Sex.
I don’t know why I didn’t expect it to touch on some explicit imagery due to it being R-Rated, but I was greatly shocked at the boundaries they crossed. I love that Ryan decided to add sex scenes, because you can’t have a vampire film without lust. Lust+Blood+Deceit=Vampire Success. I think Ryan also kind of made a satire out of that theme because it’s so oversaturated, but so many directors and studios have failed to find success with vampire tropes in the last 15 years, in my opinion. We have a good handful of vampire movies that have timeless success, and they can all be counted on 2 hands. I said what I said.
Black love will forever be a success to me. I think Ryan’s wife definitely had some influence on the imagery of Black women in this movie. I loved that they never strayed away from the power Black women had in the south. The way Annie made sure to take care of them all with Hoodoo and pure familial love was unreal. She wasn’t just a spiritual woman, but feminine love incarnated. I also loved that they made the women equal partners to the men. The many scenes where the women stood beside the men instead of in front or behind when trouble came.
Religion and Spirituality
I have been waiting for a southern gothic movie that equally pairs Christianity with spirituality for so long! It wasn’t Christianity working against spirituality or the other way around. Both were equally respected and given a powerful throne within the movie. Hoodoo has been highly misrepresented in the media because it is so closed and sacred. I also feel like with so many non-Black directors trying to use it as a cash-grab gimmick, they misinterpret Hoodoo with Vodou, and Santeria. All different practices and all closed. So, it was really nice and emotional to see Ryan shed so much love into Hoodoo without spilling too much about it.
The church having its own shots without much going on were kind of a miss for me at first but then on the second watch it felt so significant. Whenever the church or Sammie’s dad was in frame, it was as if everything was full of light. The all-white church and religious attire felt pure and stable.
*SPOILER* There’s a scene that involves The Lord’s Prayer. The way they shot it, in my opinion, was as if evil cannot be strayed away by prayer, but belief in your own power and faith was intriguing. To me, it felt like prayer can only work if you believe in the strength it can give to you. Religion and spirituality have that the most in common, in my opinion. Faith and belief in the words you say is what invokes the outcome. It made me think about how sometimes when we pray, we feel like nothing is happening. The truth is, deep down we already believe nothing will happen, so it is. That doubt can creep up and make us immobile until we have nothing left but to trust in that prayer, then miraculously what we prayed for comes to life quicker than we can blink.
In conclusion, this film has so many strings running within it. Ryan Coogler and everyone that worked on this film did a spectacular job bringing horror, nonfiction, fantasy, and culture together.
Merging our history into our future by accepting who we are in the present is what art is about. It is what it means to be a storyteller. We are the middlemen between spirit of the past and the future that depends on our movement today, especially as Black people. Since forever we have had traditions of ancestorial veneration in everything we do. Whether we venerate within our music, our style, our language, our food, our relationships, or through God. We have a gift that some want, and that is the connection to spirit of the old and the new. We are the gatekeepers between our past and future. Souls that have the chance to operate in bodies that may be hated but can never be authentically duplicated.
I truly hope that this movie sends a message to the entertainment industry that we are in desperate need for new stories. And Black film makers, writers, producers, actors, etc. are more than marketable. We are able to revive anything and alchemize it into a hit!
I also want to give a big shoutout to Director of Photography, Autumn Durald Arkapaw and Costume Designer Ruth E. Carter!
(Autumn Durald Arkapaw - DP)
(Ruth E. Carter - American Costume Designer)
Make sure you go see Sinners in IMAX or any format you can!