With its recent unprecedented success, Emma Shortall reviews Sinners, a genre-bending feast for the eyes that deserves to be witnessed on the largest screen possible
If you’re looking for vampires singing and dancing to “The Rocky Road to Dublin” you’ve come to the right place! Sinners (2025) is written and directed by Ryan Coogler and stars Michael B. Jordan playing identical twin gangsters Smoke and Stack who return to their Mississippi hometown in 1932 in an attempt to leave their troubled lives in Chicago behind. Little do they know that the trouble awaiting them is greater than anything they’ve ever encountered before.
Right off the bat, the performances across the board are all incredible. Jordan walks the dual character tightrope with precision and manages to make both men feel distinct and deeply connected at the same time. While Smoke is more stick and Stack is more carrot, they both have the same end goal, and both make for fascinating protagonists. Hailee Steinfeld’s Mary brings an important depth to the film in terms of establishing the stakes and a backstory with the twins. Steinfeld also manages to convey a tragic and sympathetic quality about Mary due to the fact that her romance with Stack is doomed in a Jim Crow era United States and her having been forced to live a life (without garlic) she never wanted to live.
Wunmi Mosaku’s Annie brings much needed heart and warmth to a film filled with gangsters and blood thirsty vampires. Her performance exudes wisdom, and she is the voice of calm when chaos ensues. Miles Caton has a magnificent screen debut playing Sammie, the cousin of Smoke and Stack who is a talented musician discouraged to pursue this undeniable passion/gift that he possesses. Other notable performances include Jack O’Connell as Remmick, an unnerving and imposing vampire with an agenda and Delroy Lindo as the charming and consistently funny Delta Slim.
Ludwig Göransson’s score is utterly invigorating and Autumn Durald Arkapaw’s cinematography brings a vibrancy and terrifying texture to the bloody mayhem that encompasses the latter half of the film.
Even in a film filled with vampires and jump scares, the most jaw dropping sequence in the entire film was the juke joint dance sequence where it’s all done in one take which is more than impressive on Coogler’s part. This leads me onto what is my favourite aspect of the film which is the direction. Coogler differentiates this from other horror films by having the first half of the film be commentary of sorts about systemic racism rampant in societies of the Deep South during this period and the second half shifts more towards a horror film.
Another creative choice that was extremely effective was the inclusion and importance of music in the film. Caton does a wonderful job with his singing, particularly with the songs “Travelin’” and “I Lied to You” and O’Connell too displays some impressive pipes and dance moves with “Pick Poor Robin Clean” and “The Rocky Road to Dublin”. The music is something that unites and something that haunts, particularly in the after credits scene.
Technically, this film was a big screen treat. Ludwig Göransson’s score is utterly invigorating and Autumn Durald Arkapaw’s cinematography brings a vibrancy and terrifying texture to the bloody mayhem that encompasses the latter half of the film. Costume designer Ruth E. Carter does a phenomenal job at being period accurate and staying true to the culture of the Mississippi Delta while also making each character look distinct and giving them their own unique flare.
My only small gripe with the film is that when it comes to the horror aspect of the film, the film reverts to certain cliches at points. For example, the character Cornbread (Omar Benson Miller) goes off on his own during the evening and ends up being surrounded by vampires and characters letting a stranger into their house as the sun sets, having been advised not to.
Overall, there is not much else to say other than Sinners is a fantastic experience that deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible!