Sinners

May 9 – 15

7 pm
1:30 pm Sunday May 11 Matinée

Mystery-Thriller / Horror / Adventure

Rated 14A – 2h 11m

Star Michael B Jordan and director Ryan Coogler have risen together to the top of the Hollywood mountain, making hits such as Creed, the Black Panther films, and their breakthrough 2013 drama Fruitvale Station. Their latest doubles down on that collaboration, as Coogler sees double in the magnificent horror Sinners. Set in 1930s Mississippi, it tells the story of twins Smoke and Stack Moore (both played by Jordan) returning to their hometown after working for Al Capone in Chicago. Starting a juke joint with stolen money, the brothers believe their troubles are over. However, an unholy force is uncovered by their music, making the bar a haven for the supernatural.

Sinners is a redemption movie, a revenge movie with elements of Blaxploitation, and certainly a red-blood-soaked horror movie; it’s also deeply romantic and has the rhythms and audaciousness of some of our boldest musicals. Music, history, and horror flow freely through Ryan Coogler’s script. The Ludwig Göransson score paired with traditional Delta blues radiates throughout Sinners, giving the narrative a supernatural feel long before vampires arrive. Coogler draws influences from vampiric folklore, John Carpenter’s The Thing, a bit of Tarantino, and his own personal filmmaking gravitas to create a magical experience. Sinners has deep roots in the horrific stories of the American South. Ryan Coogler takes the Jim Crow Delta and gives the violence a vampiric spin, creating an allegory that transcends cinema, expressing the blood-soaked reality.

Sinners is not just one of the best installments of the new “Vampire Renaissance” but one of the best installments of the vampire mythos and perhaps the best film of his illustrious career. From the first frame, the film lets you know this is more than a set up for scares. Steeped in gorgeous visuals and an irresistible soundtrack, its playful beginnings lead to a seductive chaos that makes this one of the most uniquely enjoyable experiences this year. Vampire mythology lends itself easily to the spiritual, primal story of survival within Sinners. It is almost too perfect. Coogler, Jordan, and the entire team take Robert Johnson’s blues and blend them brutally with the harsh devil of the vampiric South.