Sinners Review

Photo Credit - Proximty/Warner Bros. Pictures

In the case of Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan, saying they “click” as a tandem is an understatement. Indie gem Fruitvale Station, the mega-blockbuster Black Panther films, and the life given to the Rocky legacy through their Creed films all in just 12 years is a remarkable run. Their latest, Sinners, shows they aren’t stopping any time soon.

Set in 1930s Mississippi, Sinners is the story of twin prodigal sons returning home to fulfill their dream of opening a juke joint and soon encounter a demonic entity. The plot doesn’t distinguish it from most horror films. However, Sinners is far from run-of-the-mill thanks to Coogler’s genius as a writer and director and potentially THE breakout performance from Jordan.

Apart from a few jump scares in the film’s opening scene, Coogler structures Sinners, his first original screenplay, as a tale of two halves. The first half is a history lesson that is nothing short of a masterclass in world-building. Coogler’s script is filled with dialogue and anecdotes that give all the necessary background to understand the characters of Sinners and educate about life and culture in Depression-era Mississippi.

The rate at which Coogler moves this half of the film is steady enough for the audience to grab every detail, yet it never drags. It’s a historical and cultural immersion that rivals a tour of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, especially when it ties the music back to real life.

Sinners's second half is where the fun begins. Here, Coogler goes all full throttle and unveils a knack for staging and executing well-timed jump scares. They’re jarring, and you never see them coming, a rarity in horror these days. If he wanted to be a master of horror, Coogler could do so with ease.

For Jordan’s part in propelling Sinners to greatness, the Smoke-Stack twins give us the Michael B. Jordan we’ve long wanted to see. Ironically, the twins are his previous career-best Killmonger turn, but they split into separate roles.  Smoke is straight-laced and calculating, with Stack representing the charismatic side of the twins, and Jordan is a revelation as both men.

Jordan’s vastly improved emoting and line delivery across tones and moods instantly jump off the screen, and you don’t want him to leave it. Some would argue this could be due to his connection with Coogler, but Jordan looks and sounds like a man ready for superstardom (again), regardless of who’s at the helm.

While the Coogler-Jordan combo does the heavy lifting, Sinners is far from a two-person game. Behind the camera, Autumn Durald Arkapaw’s southern landscape shots perfectly complement Coogler’s history and culture-entrenched script. On the acting front, Jordan gets plenty of support from Delroy Lindo, who wins you by carrying the bulk of Sinners’s comic relief, and  Jack O’Connell’s villainous Remmick.

Even with my high expectations for a Coogler-Jordan collab, Sinners gave me far more than I could have imagined. It checks all the boxes for a good horror film, but putting it in that box woefully undersells everything it accomplishes. It’s a masterful exploration of culture, legacy, and community that uses horror elements to caution what happens when certain elements enter those sacred grounds. It’s also the kind of cinematic achievement that should be on early lists for best original screenplay, best picture, and possibly best director.

In terms of how Sinners should be watched, this video can help you decide. The whole clip is good information, but you can skip straight to the 4-minute- or 6-minute mark to get to what you need to determine your viewing preference.