The irony of a movie with the tagline “Dance with the Devil” releasing on Easter weekend certainly is not lost. Yet, if there’s anything audiences may learn from Ryan Coogler’s newest film, it’s that you can go to church and still commune with the “Sinners.”
The Oscar-nominated director’s first feature-length film since “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” in 2022 is a venture away from his typical work, delving instead into something a bit more terrifying. The deviation is certainly not for the worse, though, as Coogler and his super-powered team of actors and crew members offer up one of the best movies of 2025 so far.
“Sinners” blends supernatural with Southern Gothic as it takes audiences back to Jim Crow-era Mississippi, where identical twins “Smoke” and “Stack” (Michael B. Jordan) return home after being away for a long while.
After chasing World War I combat with some alleged work with Chicago gangsters, the brothers return to their hometown, bringing with them a truckload of bootleg liquor and plans to open a juke joint. Instead of a smooth and successful opening night, however, the joint receives an unexpected visitor, and the night of drinking and dancing turns into a night of frightening chaos.
The movie brings out impeccable performances from all its actors, starting first with Jordan, who plays not one, but two main roles in the form of the identical “Smokestack twins.” One of the most successful things about Jordan’s acting in “Sinners” is his ability to portray two completely separate characters at the same time. Smoke and Stack dress distinctly, speak with their own cadence and tone and even carry themselves with a different air.; Jordan’s attention to every detail of each of his roles makes it easy for audiences to forget that they are not looking at two different actors.
Hollywood newcomer Miles Caton plays Sammie — Aka “Preacher Boy” — the 19-year-old cousin of Smoke and Stack. Sammie is a musician with an otherworldly talent bolstered by the actor’s real talent. Having spent several years performing background for and touring with H.E.R., Caton auditioned for his first onscreen role at the suggestion and encouragement of the R&B singer. His soulful voice fits perfectly into the world of “Sinners,” captivating characters and audiences alike throughout the film.
Seen first in the character of Killmonger in the first “Black Panther,” Coogler seems to have a track record for writing more substantial villains, whose views and desires often come with at least a modicum of validity. “Sinners” is no different.
The juke joint’s metaphorical descent to Hell begins with the introduction of Remmick, played by English actor Jack O’Connell. Preaching “fellowship and love” with an Irish lilt, the vampire claims to have good intentions at heart, just with some more-than-questionable methods to accomplish his mission. While it would have been understandable, if not expected, for the primary antagonist in a film about a Southern Black community to be fueled by racist ideology, the vampire has other reasons for the havoc he wreaks on the juke joint patrons.
O’Connell’s performance — spurred by Coogler’s writing and emphasized through Remmick’s eerie glowing eyes and eager grin — crafts a charismatically sinister antagonist; one who is clearly dangerous, despite the altruistic words that he clearly believes as he speaks them.
When talking about Coogler’s writing in relation to his character, O’Connell spoke of “a real richness, a real depth to Ryan’s writing and what we were striving towards, it wasn’t superficial. It was grounded in something that’s rooted in history, and that, to me, was the main thing I wanted to latch onto: the cultural richness that our characters were representing in individual ways.”
This cultural richness is another element of “Sinners” that makes it the sensational film that it is. Coogler weaves together the music, customs, clothing and spirituality of the different cultures represented within the story with care and intentionality that is so clear it is nearly tangible. Not only that, but he does so specifically through the lens of when the movie takes place.
Consulting various experts with specializations ranging from Mississippi Choctaw culture and language to Mississippi Delta Chinese culture to Irish culture, Coogler elevates his film with more finesse than just plain, old-fashioned “good writing” by ensuring that what is ingrained in the real-life communities is just as ingrained in what goes onto the screen. These conscientious decisions directly contribute to some of the best scenes throughout the entirety of the movie.
Several of these standout scenes share something else in common: the music. If culture makes up the veins of “Sinners,” music is the blood that runs through them. Sammie’s musical talents extend beyond the comprehension of time, possessing the ability to connect the past, the present and the future of Black culture and communities. The blues permeate through every moment of “Sinners” with historical accuracy, just as the genre permeates through decades of musical progress.
The music of the film was the work of Oscar- and Grammy-winning composer Ludwig Göransson, who has worked with Coogler since their time as contemporaries at the University of Southern California (USC) film school. Göransson did extensive research to create a soundtrack that was both accurate to the 1930s and yet still felt new. The composer, along with Coogler and a few other members of their music team, toured the Deep South, visiting studios and museums while connecting with blues musicians, men and women who had both visited and performed at juke joints like the one in the film.
Coogler supported Göransson’s musical prowess and attention to authenticity and immersion by intentionally casting musicians in whichever roles were going to require musical performances in the film. The resulting effect on “Sinners” is something incredibly powerful, surrounding audiences with the soul of Blues from the community that first built it. Though there were a few musical instances that lacked the significant Blues influence, particularly among the vampires, there was still a clear desire for cultural authenticity. Performances that feature Remmick also feature 19th-century Irish folk songs in line with the character’s pre-Christian Irish heritage.
It is important to note that “Sinners,” while featuring musical performances, is not a musical. The film emphasizes the role that music plays in cultural identity, spirituality and religion, community and history through its musical scenes, but does not use the music to move the plot along narratively.
Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” is more than just another vampire movie. It is a multi-layered display of culture, a celebration of heritage in which every decision — from acting to music to costuming and props — is meaningful. Each character, from the main “Smokestack” twins to any of the patrons at the juke joint, has a story that impacts their actions. Nothing that Coogler does with the film is “just because;” everything is thought out and intended to show what it cannot simply tell, filling “Sinners” with symbolism and underlying meaning that leaves audiences with the desire to ruminate on what they have seen.
With “Sinners,” the director has reinforced the acclaim that has followed him since getting his start in the film industry by delivering not just a movie, but a work of art.
“Sinners” is in theaters now.