Vampires are in it for the songs, creepy dancing and, yes, lots of blood in Sinners, director Ryan Coogler’s fabulous foray into horror. Shrouded in secrecy for most of its production time, this horror film is a trip.
Yes, it is a vampire movie. The plot had been kept under wraps until the week of the movie’s release, and that created a nice mystique—but, hey, vampires make money (Twilight, bitches!), so let’s get some fangs into the commercials and put some butts in seats!
Sinners is set in the 1930s and stars Michael B. Jordan as twin brothers, Smoke and Stack—rather seamlessly, I might add. Technology has come a long way, folks. Jordan is so convincing here that you basically forget he’s not two people. They stand right next to each other; they tussle; they embrace; and you can’t find a single moment when it feels like fakery. Some fine moviemaking right there.
The brothers move to the South to open a juke joint and meet some old acquaintances. The night of their grand opening, three strangers show up looking to join the party, play some music and get their dance on. They seem a bit too friendly, and keep requesting an invitation to come in and join the party.
Jack O’Connell comes out of nowhere with a scary, funny and sad vampire take as Remmick, an Irish American who just wants everybody to get along, regardless of ethnicity, as he sucks the blood out of them. O’Connell has been acting for two decades, but none of his past work prepared me for what he delivers in Sinners. He’s an all-time-great screen vampire who does a mean Irish jig.
Delroy Lindo shows up and does a fine job of portraying Delta Slim, a character with a definite “What the hell is going on here?” vibe. Hailee Steinfeld gets one of her best roles yet as Mary, a former lover of one of the brothers and an unfortunate participant in the juke joint’s grand opening.
Stylistically, the film is an absolute triumph, from its impeccable special effects to excellent makeup effects and award-worthy cinematography. Coogler wrangles everything into a film that qualifies as one of the year’s best so far.
I absolutely loved the movie. The music was spectacular and haunting at the same time. There’s been a lot of vampire movies, but this one stood out as very different. It represents many things and if you poke a bit deeper, the vampires are ( a symbolism of oppression). Fantastic movie.