Sinners

Director: Ryan Coogler

2025

6 July 2025

See

Twin brothers Smoke and Stack (Michael B Jordan) return to their hometown in Mississippi in the 1930s having worked as bootleggers in Chicago and as soldiers in World War I. They set out to open their own juke joint and employ their musician cousin Sammie (Miles Catofi) to provide the vibe.

Think 

Sammie channels the delta blues and American folklore like Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil at a crossroads for his skill with a guitar. That devil is Rennick (Jack O’Connell), an Irish vampire who is drawn to the music and wants to possess its power. 

Feel

Coogler shows that the greatest cultural export of the United States is African American music.  The director is inventive in telling this horror story as an allegory of black music and creativity being bought and corrupted by white devils. My favourites scenes are with Hailee Steinfeld, and the gaelic jig in the car park was the most fun filmmaking. But especially impressive was the creative link Sammie conjures showing musical forebears and successors.