Sinners and all the images you see in this review are owned by Warner Bros. Pictures
Directed by Ryan Coogler
I may be coming to this one late, but it’s not like it’s gotten any less relevant since I saw it on opening weekend! The biggest news story in Hollywood, aside from all the depressing news about tariffs, has been the runaway success of Ryan Coogler’s action-horror period piece. It’s managed to keep audiences’ coming back for more week after week even in the face of the Marvel Movie Machine which admittedly snatch the first place spot from this, but staying at number two with strong weekly returns is an impressive feat in its own right. Still, a successful movie is not always the same thing as a good movie, and while Coogler’s record has been strong, he’s stretching a bit outside his comfort zone with a big budgeted movie outside of a recognizable franchise. Did this movie earn its impressive box office on its merits and through strong word of mouth, or did the hype surrounding this swiftly outpace the quality of the film itself? Let’s find out!!
Set in the small town of Clarksdale way back in 1932, we arrive on the scene just as two prodigal sons return; Elijah and Elias (Michael B Jordan) known by their nicknames “Smoke” and “Stack”. They bring with them tales of the War and the bustling city of Chicago where they may or may not have done some questionable things that brought lots of beer and stacks of cash to the small town where they plan to open a juke joint for their community. Caught up in their machinations are their cousin and the preacher’s son Sammie (Miles Caton) who, despite the protestations of his father (Saul Williams), is more than happy to play the blues for them on opening night where all their friends, as well as a few troublemakers, will be doing as the title of the movie suggests. The raucous party is so good, in fact, that it catches the attention of a nearby vampire who sees plenty of fresh meat to sink his teeth into if he can just find a way inside. Will this creature of the night find a way into the hearts and minds of those who have been marginalized and may be enticed by the powers that await them? What brought the “Smoke Stack” brothers back to their home town, and are there things in this world that terrify them more than a literal vampire at their doorstep? Whatever they did, I’m guessing it was worth it given the quality of those suits!
It’s no surprise that Ryan Coogler is once again showing up Hollywood at its own game with yet another box office smash that connected with audiences and critics alike, and I’m not about to disagree with any of them. It does have its stumbles which we will get to soon enough, but Coogler’s haunting musical journey through life, loss, greed, and sacrifice is something to behold and hopefully as big of a game changer as the studios fear it to be. It’s an exceptionally well crafted work that feels distressingly relevant, and yet manages to never feel self-important with its messaging. Rather, it lets its characters simply live and breathe in this world where the line between good and bad is as hazy as the Mississippi town that the twins are returning to after finding their fortune. Vice is a constant presence throughout the movie, with the harsh realities of Jim Crow pushing otherwise good people to fall into bad choices just to cope and survive. The fact that the more horrific events of the movie seemingly manifesting from the sinful vibes of their amazing party is more tragic than justified due in large part to the well written characters and the brilliant performances. Some of this is spelled out through dialogue, but the true medium by which its themes are expressed is the music, which is phenomenal. There are a few sour notes here and there as I’m pretty sure I heard a Lethal Weapon saxophone start blaring in the middle of a dialogue scene, but it’s at the heart of this movie’s power and, the centerpiece of the whole film is a beautifully realized musical number that stretches beyond the bounds of reality to make its point without ever feeling out of place or intrusive to the film’s established tone. While Michael B Jordan is fantastic in the dual roles, playing two sides of the same coin with equal conviction, it’s definitely Miles Caton who steals the show in these set piece moments. As an actor, he doesn’t have much to work with in the script as his place in all this is much more passive than everyone else, but a young actor out of their depth could have easily stood out like a sore thumb whereas Miles handles himself with aplomb in the dramatic scenes and steals the show in his musical ones that are worth the price of admission alone.
With all that said, and while I think the movie’s success at the box office is an encouraging sign for creator driven filmmaking, I didn’t love the movie the way I had hoped I would. I liked it quite a bit and feel that half of it is one of the best films of the year, but its intentions to be elevated shlock ends up being its greatest failing as Coogler’s direction comes off as far too skillful to try and recreate junk. It’s a film with great performances, solid storytelling, and fantastic cinematography, but it also shares space with what I felt was a weak-sauce vampire flick of the kind you’d see hit the direct to video shelves back when videos could be found on store shelves, and while the uninspired vampires are the most prominent thorns in the movie’s side, it’s a pervasive issue bubbling up ever so slightly from just underneath the surface. There are a few sparks of interesting ideas when it comes to the vampires, such as a scene with garlic and a jaunty dance number, but there’s no weight or menace to them due to how rigidly their scenes stick to the clichés of the genre. Even as a metaphor in service of the film’s thematic elements, it comes off short and somewhat hack as the rest of the movie does a much better job portraying that before it indulges in one of Horror’s most obviously symbolic creatures. There’s a distinct lack of stylistic flourish or grisly terror that would have helped its winking nods go down a bit smoother, and when the action finally kicks off in the third act, it feels like a second unit director took the reins as the shots are simplistic, and the fight choreography is bare bones. It’s a shame because everything leading up to the vampires was fantastically executed with just the right balance of highbrow filmmaking and earnest cheese, and I can only speculate that Coogler had a lot more ideas about his characters, their arcs, and the use of music in the movie than about the threat they would have to overcome.
The best shlock isn’t aware of its status as such because the sincerity is what elevates it from a bad movie to an endearing one. This movie certainly has sincerity, but it’s not from the earnest attempt of filmmakers reaching beyond their grasp but of an undeniable talent being free to express his ideas without reservation or studio interference. There’s a David vs Goliath story to be told here as its existence does throw a wrench into the studio system we’ve all become accustomed to, but its winks to the cameras are a bit obnoxious and its vampires lack teeth which sucked away much of the enthusiasm I was feeling going into the third act and lays bare the inauthenticity of its attempts at trash. It’s definitely worth seeking out if you haven’t already, even this far into its theatrical run, but I’d stop short of calling it a masterpiece as its big Monster Mash is outdone by the Underworld films and even the final Twilight movie where Dakota Fanning gets her head ripped off by werewolves.
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