If you’ve seen Sinners, you know it’s not just a movie, it’s an experience. Ryan Coogler’s latest collaboration with Michael B. Jordan has me thinking about this movie long after the credits have finished rolling. On the surface, Sinners is a supernatural thriller with vampires, twin brothers, and a brand new juke joint. But underneath, Sinners explores how the ghosts of history — personal, cultural, and colonial — never really go away. The storyline, the music, the cinematography, and its historical background make this movie an amazing watch.
- . The Storyline
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Set in 1930s Mississippi, the film follows twin brothers, Smoke and Stack, both played by Jordan, who return to their rural hometown after years in Chicago, hoping to start fresh by opening a juke joint. From the opening scenes, the story teases themes of legacy and guilt: Smoke is haunted by the death of his infant daughter and Stack is trying to balance ambition with the weight of his past. At the same time, their cousin Sammie, played by Miles Caton, is a gifted singer whose preacher father warns him that blues music is sinful.
But the film pivots when Remmick enters the scene. He appears as a charismatic, cultured visitor, played by Jack O’Connell, but he’s much more than that: he’s an ancient Irish vampire, and his arrival turns the juke joint’s promise of freedom into something far more dangerous. At first he presents himself as an ally, even a kind of friend to the music-driven culture the twins are building. He compliments Sammie’s talent, tries to enter the club, and offers what seems like collaboration. The brothers reject him, and the story continues to unfold into chaos. You’ll just need to watch the rest for yourself.
- . The Music
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The Sinners soundtrack is arguably my favorite part of the entire movie and plays a huge role in the story. The songs we hear throughout the film pull from the black southern musical tradition, especially the blues born from the fields of post-slavery Mississippi. Sammie performs in the juke joint and makes it come alive. You can feel the emotions through the screen coming from the music. The music blends musical traditions from the past, present, and the future, and it’s beautiful to listen to. Remmick also performs traditional Irish folk songs throughout the film, which reflects his love of music, but also his need for power that manifests music. My favorite song from the soundtrack is “Mound Bayou/Proper Black Folks” by Ludwig Göransson. It’s a beautiful and haunting instrumental that invokes so much emotion and sets the tone for the entire movie. Please give it a listen, you won’t be disappointed.
- . The Cinematography
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One of the most stunning things about Sinners is that you could mute it and still feel everything. It’s visual poetry layered with pain, beauty, and memory. The movie isn’t just aesthetic; it’s emotional story telling. From the very first scene, the world of Sinners feels alive. The Mississippi Delta glows with realism, golden light on the cotton fields, hazy blues around the juke joint, and deep, shadows that seem to swallow the characters whole. The camera movement is slow, deliberate, and intimate. When Smoke prays, the camera lingers on his hands, trembling in the dim lighting. When Remmick enters a room, the light bends, literally. The lamps dim and the color drains ever so slightly. It’s subtle, but it tells you that something unnatural has entered the space.
- . The Historical Context
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What makes Sinners so powerful isn’t just its vampires or its Southern Gothic mystery, it’s how those things become a metaphor for colonialism’s afterlife. Coogler takes what could’ve been a simple horror trope and turns it into a reflection of how systems of power drain life, spirit, and culture from the communities they dominate. Coogler draws a quiet but devastating line between the colonial project overseas and the internal colonization of black life in the United States. The vampires, led by Remmick, are not just monsters — they’re embodiments of extraction. They take without giving. They feed but never nurture. They live forever while leaving others hollow. Coogler even weaves this into the religious imagery. The vampires hide behind crosses and prayers, just as colonial powers once used Christianity as a justification for conquest. In one haunting scene, Remmick quotes scripture as he takes his next victim, the Bible glowing faintly in the moonlight.
Sinners was the best movie that I watched this year, and I recommend everyone to watch it. With Coogler’s incredible story telling, Jordan’s acting, and the amazing soundtrack, what’s not to like? You will get completely immersed in the story and will feel like you’re living that night along with the characters. Sinners is really about the courage to face the past and still choose to live, love, and create.