MOVIE SCENE CANADA
SINNERS
​I Warner Bros. Pictures Canada I April 18, 2025 I 137 mins. I
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97%
* As of 4/17/25
CAST:
Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O'Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Benson Miller, Delroy Lindo
DIRECTOR(S):
Ryan Coogler
Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Michael B. Jordan) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.
REVIEW BY: Darren Zakus - 4/17/25
RATING 5 out of 5
Sinners is not only Ryan Coogler’s best film of his career to date, it is a towering achievement that features beautiful cinematography, excellent performances from its ensemble cast, lots of shocking, bloody and terrifying moments all set to an excellent soundtrack and score from Ludwig Göransson, easily claiming the title of the best horror film of the decade yet!
There are some filmmakers that you don’t need to know anything about the film they are making, as you will be seated for their next project regardless. Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, Greta Gerwig and Emerald Fennell are all storytellers of that calibre, and Ryan Coogler cements himself alongside them with Sinners. Taking a unique approach to the world of vampires, mixing it with African American culture and a visionary use of music, Coogler not only delivers the best film of his career yet, but a magnificent masterpiece for the horror genre that is bound to be one of the most celebrated and talked about films of the year. Delivering both a masterclass in filmmaking and an unbelievable tension that more than delivers the requisite thrills and scares that fans expect from the horror genre, Coogler infuses the vampire genre with a gory, sensual experience that is going to delight movie going audiences with the first true cinematic event of the year.
At this point, audiences know the rules of the vampire genre, and Coogler plays firmly within those rules, while bringing back some long forgotten elements of the genre that will bring a smile to horror fans' faces. But instead of starting the film off with some vampire havoc, Coogler takes his time to build the world of Sinners with mesmerizing storytelling that builds the film’s themes. The entire first act is a slow build, introducing the importance of music to both the world and the story, the complicated relationships between the main characters, and creating this breathtaking vision of the South. Some may claim its too slow moving, but it's captivating and intentional building to get audiences to the big opening of Smoke and Stack’s Juke Club, allowing the film’s middle act to introduce the vampires and set the stage for the final act. And once the film reaches the final act and the frame expands to the 1.43:1 IMAX ratio, you know you are in for one wildly bloody, terrifying and fantastic final act. And instead of going for the easy out of white vampires praying on black individuals, Coogler has a far more disturbing and meaningful metaphorical use of the vampires that works brilliantly with the rest of the thematic material he has orchestrated, proving himself an unparalleled storyteller in every sense of the word.
There has not been a film that Coogler has made that doesn’t feature Michael B. Jordan, so naturally their latest film has dual roles to maximize Jordan’s screen time. As with all his performances, Jordan is exceptional and crafts two very distinct and compelling characters with Smoke and Stack, encompassing the battle between humanity and evil within his two performances alone. Hailee Steinfeld is great as Mary, conjuring up a playful darkness that we have not seen from her as an actress before that fits perfectly into Coogler’s vision and pairs brilliantly with Jack O’Connell’s sinister turn as Remmick. Wunmi Mosaku and Li Jun Li are both fantastic as Annie and Grace, creating two powerful female characters that you can’t help but immediately love; while Delroy Lindo is exceptional as Delta Slim, bringing some well timed and needed comedic relief to the film. But, it is newcomer Miles Caton who steals the show. In his screen debut, Caton is captivating as Smoke and Stack’s young cousin Sammie, bringing a soulful and youthful desire to make his mark on the world that is a stark contrast to the evil seen by the rest of our characters. Acting against such a talented cast is no easy task, but Caton more than rises to the occasion, having great on screen chemistry with Jordan, Lindo and Jayme Lawson in every scene. But once he opens his mouth and starts singing, the sheer power and musicality of his voice overtakes the film, becoming the centerpiece of the film that will leave you speechless. Needless to say, but Hollywood has just found its new young star to champion in Caton.
An integral part of all of Coogler’s films to date has been music, but what he uses it for in Sinners is unlike anything he has ever done before. Reuniting with Ludwig Göransson, who has scored all of Coogler’s films since 2015’s Creed, Göransson has crafted yet another magnificent musical score that creates an unforgettable soundscape for the film. Playing with Southern musical phrasings, blues, and acoustic guitar, Göransson effortlessly captures the atmosphere of the South in the 1930s, while giving the film a sinister energy during its second half that sets the stage for the story’s horrors to unfold. But, it is the way that Coogler and Göransson use song to capture the film’s central theme that is unlike anything you have ever seen. Music has always brought individuals together, from landmark concerts to friends sitting down together to listen to an album, and this sense of community is captured throughout the film. From Stack assembling the band for his and Smoke’s Juke Club in the film’s first act, Sammie’s transcendent performance in the Juke Club, to the chilling use of song by the vampires which flips the idea of community on its head in a way that will make your skin crawl, Sinners features the most inventive use of song seen on screen this century so far.
Coogler’s films have always looked great, from impressive production and costume design, and while Sinners has all of that in spades, the visual experience of Sinners is on a whole other level. Shot on a mixture of 65mm film using a combination of IMAX 15-perf 70 mm and Ultra Panavision 70mm cameras, Autumn Durald Arkapaw’s cinematography is jaw-dropping and fully draws the audience into the world of the film. With a rich clarity and texture from the film stock, the immersive IMAX shot sequences that fill the screen for the film’s most pivotal moments, and the beautifully shot night sequences that use limited light sources and darkness to play on audiences fears, Arkapaw’s work in bringing Coogler’s vision to life is simply stunning. But, it is THAT single take shot in the Juke Club where Arkapaw and Coogler deliver the most stunning visual scene of the year that seamlessly showcases the transcendent power of music using Caton’s performance to connect generations together with a breathtaking and dazzling camera movement that will leave audiences speechless.
Every filmmaker has one, but it feels like Ryan Coogler has created his magnum opus with Sinners in only a matter of five films. Crafting a visionary horror film that features stellar use of song, a haunting musical score from Ludwig Göransson, excellent performances, jaw-dropping cinematography and an excellent take on the vampire subgenre, this is not only a film that demands to be seen in IMAX, but a vampire film unlike anything you have ever seen or probably ever will again. Led by the phenomenal performances of Michael B. Jordan and Miles Caton, Ryan Coogler’s epic foray into the world of horror and vampires is nothing short of show-stopping featuring magnificent cinematography, brilliant use of music and song, bloody mayhem, and an undeniable horny energy that makes Sinners not only one of the year’s best films, but a crowning achievement within the horror genre itself!