“Sinners” is several things at once — a monster movie, a blood-soaked action film, a sexy and sensual thriller, and a one-location horror flick as intense and paranoia-driven as anything from the original “Assault on Precinct 13” or Quentin Tarantino’s filmography – but its greatest strength comes from how well Coogler blends every big idea on his mind. Music plays an enormously important role in the narrative, emphasized by the world-building details of how these vampires get involved in the first place. According to legend, preternaturally gifted musicians can sometimes have their music act as a mystical conduit between life and death. Throughout the film, we see how it wears its love for the artform on its sleeve. Music can be an expression of cultural traditions, of dreams for the future, of community, of outright defiance … and, on the flip side, of temptation and greed.
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It’s no coincidence that the vampires of “Sinners” aren’t only after the blood of their victims. Remmick and his ever-growing followers also have a legitimate worldview, one that’s defined by doing away with cultural divisions in favor of a “heaven on Earth” and a world ruled by pithy truisms about being kind and polite and “one people” who are “together forever” — a darkly hilarious sentiment coming from undead vampires with razor-sharp fangs and blood-red eyes. Importantly, Coogler’s script positions these villains as genuinely talented musicians in their own right, even earning a respectful nod from the trigger-happy Stack as they perform a catchy folk song in an attempt to enter the premises of their juke joint. But as Remmick menacingly growls to Sammie at one point, “I want your stories; I want your songs.” These are culture vultures in every sense of the phrase, and that added dose of real-world horror only makes them all the more terrifying.
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Everything comes to a head in a barn-burning sequence drenched in hazy lights and shadows, shot largely in a single take during Sammie’s performance and making full use of the IMAX screen and its dramatic aspect ratio changes. Almost certainly destined to end up among the best and most memorable scenes in all of 2025, this transports viewers across a dreamlike tableau of Black characters in true communion with ancestors and descendants alike — a moment of actual movie magic that needs to be seen to be believed. Director of photography Autumn Durald Arkapaw (reuniting with Coogler after “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”), editor Michael P. Shawver, and the entire sound department deserve no end of kudos here, as does Caton’s breathtaking musical performance and composer Ludwig Göransson’s essential bluesy score. And, somehow, “Sinners” only ramps up even higher from there in a chaotic final act that I dare not spoil.
If the ending drags on somewhat indulgently (including both a mid- and post-credits scene, amazingly), well, Coogler more than earns the right. This is a one-of-a-kind experience that simply doesn’t come around very often. Hyperbole or not, I’m willing to bet we’ll be talking about “Sinners” for a long time to come.
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/Film Rating: 9 out of 10
“Sinners” opens in theaters on April 18, 2025.