[7]
In this period horror film from writer/director Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Black Panther), twin Chicago gangsters named Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan) return to their Depression-era Mississippi home town to create a more legitimate life for themselves. They spend a day recruiting old friends and acquaintances to run their new juke joint, but when the joint opens that night, three vampires come a-knockin’, picking off the attendees in a night-long bloodbath.
Coogler creates an ensemble of memorable, well-developed characters that greatly enrich Sinners. Smoke and Stack encounter old flames who carry interesting subplots, a voo doo shop owner played warmly by Wunmi Mosaku, and a bitter foster sister played by Hailee Steinfeld. Delroy Lindo gets some resonating moments as an alcoholic harmonica and piano player. Newcomer Miles Caton plays Smoke and Stack’s musically gifted cousin whose father thinks the juke joint is nothing but an evil endeavor.
The vampires are portrayed very interestingly here, neither feral nor libidinous like they are in so many other vampire flicks. Here they are more like religious proselytizers, convinced they offer their prey gateway to a better world. Jack O’Connell (28 Years Later: The Bone Temple) is fiendish as their leader. One of my favorite parts is when O’Connell leads a swarm of his vampire converts in dance around the besieged juke joint, singing an old Irish jig in unison. Community plays a substantial role in Sinners, making the vampires all the more terrifying for offering a tempting, easy alternative toward that sense of belonging.
Sinners is conceptually and structurally similar to Robert Rodriguez From Dusk Till Dawn, but it’s very different in tone and style, the horror elements more subdued and the drama far more grounded. Coogler’s film features exceptional casting, production design, and music — both Ludwig Goransson’s score and the handful of period songs that are performed. The cinematography is sometimes too dark for my taste, but it’s otherwise a beautifully executed and entertaining film. The biggest thing holding Sinners back is that its narrative buildup is more engrossing than its payoff. Coogler can’t quite deliver the visceral goods that the climax of the movie needed — not if you’re going to top Rodriquez’s work (and shouldn’t you at least try?) The lengthy post-credit sequence also muddies the film’s morals unnecessarily.
With Saul Williams, Yao, Helena Hu, and Sam Malone.
Academy Awards: Best Actor (Michael B. Jordan), Original Screenplay (Ryan Coogler), Cinematography (Autumn Durald Arkapaw), Score (Ludwig Goransson)
Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (Delroy Lindo), Supporting Actress (Wunmi Mosaku), Casting, Makeup & Hairstyling, Sound, Song (“I Lied to You”), Visual Effects, Costume Design, Production Design, Film Editing