'Sinners' – Horror With Historical Teeth of Black Resistance

'Sinners' – Horror With Historical Teeth of Black Resistance

Ryan Coogler’s ‘Sinners’ crafts a daring fusion of Southern Gothic horror and Black historical narrative, producing one of the most genre-defying films in recent memory. Set in 1932 Mississippi, the story unfolds in the sweltering, haunted swamps of the Deep South; a place already thick with the ghosts of slavery, racial terror, and cultural resilience. Into this backdrop Coogler injects a new horror: vampires. But don’t be misled, 'Sinners' isn’t just a creature feature. It’s an emotionally rich, visually haunting tale that questions the very nature of survival, community, and the power of ancestral memory.

The film follows twin brothers Elijah “Smoke” and Elias “Stack” Moore, both portrayed with deft nuance by Michael B. Jordan in a dual performance that’s easily among his most compelling work. After time spent in prohibition-era Chicago working with Al Capone, the brothers return to their Southern hometown with dreams of building a juke joint; an act of cultural restoration and economic independence. What starts as a homecoming quickly turns into a nightmare. The land they’ve returned to is haunted, not just metaphorically by history, but literally, by a centuries-old vampire named Remmick (Jack O’Connell), whose arrival stirs an already frayed community. O'Connell is unsettling in his portrayal of a monster that oozes both charm and cruelty, a nod to colonial violence dressed in fine Irish linen.

The choice of a vampire antagonist is no accident. Coogler uses the figure as a direct metaphor for white supremacy and extractive violence. Remmick doesn’t simply drink blood, he feeds off culture, memory, and resistance. In several tense scenes, we see him playing at benevolence before turning predatory, a chilling allegory of systemic oppression that’s far more affecting than traditional horror fare.

'Sinners' walks the same path as Jordan Peele’s ‘Get Out’ or ‘Ganja & Hess', but with a historical setting that adds new layers of complexity. Coogler’s screenplay, co-written with Joe Robert Cole, doesn’t just tell a ghost story; it resurrects the very real ghosts of the American South.

Music is another powerful tool in 'Sinners', not just as ambiance but as ritual. The brothers’ cousin Sammie, played by Miles Caton, is a gifted musician whose blues performances aren’t just entertainment, they’re portals to the spiritual world. Through Sammie, the film touches on the idea that Black art is not only resistance but invocation, a call to ancestors, to strength, to history. While his character arc offers some of the film’s most powerful moments (including a jaw-dropping scene where her song drives Remmick into a frenzy), it does feel underdeveloped in parts. Critics have pointed out that Sammie’s supernatural gift, hinted to be something akin to conjuring or spiritual warfare, is introduced with grandeur but never fully explored. It's a missed opportunity in an otherwise intricate tapestry.

Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw paints the Mississippi Delta in hues of rust, fog, and blood. Her lens moves languidly, capturing the heat and stillness of the swamp, the uneasy quiet of old churches, and the intimacy of candle-lit interiors. The film has the feel of an old Southern photograph that’s been soaked in whiskey and fire.

Ludwig Göransson’s score is equally important to the film’s atmosphere. Mixing Delta blues, gospel, and discordant horror motifs, the music becomes its own character, an invisible force both rooting and destabilizing the narrative. In one especially haunting scene, a harmonica tune blends with the sound of a heartbeat as a vampire feeds off its victim. It’s visceral, beautiful, and deeply disturbing.

Michael B. Jordan’s performance is truly a masterclass. He shifts between Smoke’s bravado and Stack’s guarded vulnerability with subtlety, embodying two different but equally compelling responses to trauma. His ability to hold the screen in scenes opposite himself is nothing short of mesmerizing.

Supporting roles shine as well. Hailee Steinfeld plays a sympathetic outsider nurse caught between loyalty and horror. Wunmi Mosaku, as the town’s spiritual guide, delivers a performance that’s both grounded and ethereal. And Delroy Lindo, as the old preacher who first suspects the return of the vampire, adds gravitas with every syllable. 

What elevates 'Sinners' above most horror films is how deeply it's rooted in the historical and cultural reality of Black life in America. The horror isn’t just fangs and blood, it’s lynching trees, razed juke joints, the erasure of memory. Remmick may be the monster, but Coogler’s larger villain is a system that allows monsters to thrive.

In one pivotal scene, a Black elder, Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo)  explains to the twins that the vampire has lived in many bodies over the years: a slave-catcher, a banker, a judge. “He always shows up when we start to build,” he says. It’s one of the film’s most chilling lines, not because of what it implies about Remmick, but what it reveals about generational trauma.

Despite its critical acclaim, 'Sinners' has struggled at the box office, earning $61 million against a production budget rumored to be near $100 million. That’s unfortunate, because this is a film that deserves to be seen and dissected in theaters. Some attribute the low turnout to genre fatigue or the film’s unconventional pacing, but its impact on Black cinema and horror storytelling is already being felt.

The consensus is clear: 'Sinners' is a bold step forward.

'Sinners' isn’t perfect. Its ambition sometimes outpaces its narrative focus, and its horror elements won’t satisfy those looking for traditional jump scares. But as an artistic statement, a cultural document, and a cinematic experience, it’s profound.

Ryan Coogler has once again proven himself not just as a filmmaker but as a storyteller of historic urgency. In 'Sinners', he dares to imagine a world where horror and history collide, and in doing so, he has crafted a film that bleeds with meaning.

Rating: ★★★★½ (4.5/5)