“You keep dancing with the devil; one day he’s gonna follow you home,” a preacher prophetically forewarns to his son in a prologue within filmmaker Ryan Coogler’s sensational horror thriller, “Sinners.” And follow he does, and then some, in what is an early frontrunner for film of the year. A spectacular, sexy, sweaty and soulful vampire drama, the mesmerizing tale is much more than just a horror film; it possesses great spiritual depth and emotional texture.
Coogler didn’t spend enough time in indies or straight drama after his excellent debut “Fruitvale Station,” honestly. But the canny filmmaker read the industry tea leaves early, instead choosing to inject genre pictures with great heart, intellectual heft, fiery passion, substance and emotional grit. Coogler essentially does with “Sinners” what he did for “Creed” and boxing and “Black Panther” and cape shit: elevate the genre beyond measure, crafting entertaining spectacles featuring searing performances, terrific poignancy and rich, thematic thoughtfulness.
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Set in the Mississippi Delta in the 1930s, “Sinners” is much the same, a fierce movie with so much on its mind to call is a straight horror film would be— with apologies to horror— a disservice to its many fascinating layers.
Ambitious to the hilt, Coogler’s “Sinners” is part gnarly blaxploitation grindhouse picture, part ardent drama about brotherhood, family, and overdue homecomings, part spiritual folk tale and part zealous sermon about a twisted sense of salvation from this hellish world, the devil within us all and the retribution we receive when we tango with him for too long. “Sinners” is a complete meal that contains multitudes. It’s also a deeply deadly fuck around and find out movie.
The gripping film follows two slick twin brothers, Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan with incredibly nuanced intensity and endless charisma), former WWII combat veterans, returning home to the Jim Crow-era South after a stint in gangland Chicago. Written with terrific gradation by Coogler, “Sinners” never really spells out why they’ve come home until later. Still, it’s clever enough to drop enough vibes: the jaunt in the Windy City in the time of Capone and gangsters didn’t go as smoothly as expected.
Wasting not a second, the savvy, somewhat shady and opportunistic Smoke and Stack quickly recruit family and friends for their latest entrepreneurial effort. Buying some land and a barn from a white bigot surprised to see their bags full of cash, they enlist their young cousin and blue guitar-playing prodigy Sammie Moore (Miles Caton) to be the entertainment at their new nightclub, which is hurtling wildly towards a hasty grand opening.
Also bribed into the fold is local smooth and slippery musician Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo), Smoke’s Hoodoo conjurer and spiritual healer girlfriend, Annie (Wunmi Mosaku), their friend and muscle Cornbread (Omar Benson Miller) as the doorman, and two local grocers, Grace and Bo Chow (Li Jun Li and Yao, respectively) tapped for cooking duties.
Somewhere in the mix and on the outside initially is coquettish Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), Stack’s childhood friend and former lover, who bristles upon his return for all the lies and broken promises he told about coming home to sweep her off her feet. Also in the mix, eventually, is Pearline (Jayme Lawson), an aspiring blues singer who needs to escape from her repressive marriage.
With a plan in place, the winds of purpose at their back—Coogler’s movie travels with boundless momentum—it’s only a matter of hours before their impulsively built juke joint nightclub is up and running.
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But a bad moon is rising on the horizon. The wickedly charismatic stranger Remmick (Jack O’Connell) has rolled into town after nearly perishing and recruits his own iniquitous helpers in married couple Joan (Lola Kirke) and Bert (July Talk’s Peter Dreimanis), and well, let’s say they have a taste for blood.
What ensues is essentially a vampiric home invasion film, a hoard of ghouls trying to raid the juke joint but beholden to the rules of vampirial invitation only.
It’s sinister and rattlesnake scary— a simmering, visceral movie that growls with ferocity, is gory, suspenseful, bloodcurdling and extraordinary. Along the way, Coogler manages to insert substantive ideas about ancestral spirits, the legacy of black music that connects us to the past, slavery, racism, amoral sins against god, and the fearful cost of wickedness.
Like great blaxploitation films of the past, “Sinners” isn’t bashful and isn’t afraid to be nasty, raunchy and sexual too; this is a lustful R-rated movie in the best sense of the word, and it’s refreshing for an adult movie to be so candid about libidinous sex. To that end, it’s biblically vengeful too and knows its deadliest of sins, weaving in themes of greed, gluttony, pride and the wrath that usually follows without being overt about it.
“Sinners” is terrifically cast across the board, giving ample room to highlight previously unseen talents. Jack O’Connell is devilishly good in the antagonist role, Hailee Steinfeld is a convincing temptress, and everyone shimmers in their roles, but whoo boy, Michael B. Jordan is just on fire throughout.
Firstly, it’s probably the finest dual role twin performance since Nicolas Cage in “Adaptation,” but the divergent levels of nuance—twins who are very similar, and yet distinct—is phenomenally pronounced. The brothers are identical twins, but it’s clear that Smoke is more of the big brother and leader, while Stack is the more youthful dreamer, and Jordan carries them that way, both physically and emotionally.
The degree of difficulty in the dynamics and subtly is high, but it’s all incredibly persuasive. The performance and technical aspects are also seamless and effortless. Never once in a minute are you questioning that these two brothers aren’t different characters.
“Sinners” has riches across the board, from Ludwig Göransson’s blistering, rock-heavy score, Oscar-winner Ruth E. Carter’s gorgeous costume designs, to the brilliant and often breathtaking cinematography from Autumn Durald Arkapaw (quickly becoming one of the best in the game). Black skin hasn’t been photographed this beautifully since the early films of Barry Jenkins, and Durald Arkapaw’s use of dusky, low-light photography is stunning. Then there’s the jaw-dropping camera work, from some excellent blocking to some outstanding, elaborately choreographed long takes that dazzle and yet do not call too much attention to themselves.
All of the elements of impressive craft blend to make a wholly unique concoction, a bloody, eerie, creepy and yet thoughtful and emotional exploitation movie about demons, ghosts, black magic and haunted things. Blessed are we to have Ryan Coogler, elevating genre films on every level. Will the Academy recognize the picture now that “Get Out,” “The Substance” and “Nosferatu” have seemingly crucified their horror bias? Honestly, who cares, “Sinners” is a bloody good time at the movies, and that’s all that matters. [A]
“Sinners” opens in theaters nationwide on April 18 via Warner Bros.
