Sinners Review
Probably the most anticipated movie of 2025 so far, Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler, was released on April 18th. It tells the story of two identical twins, Stack and Smoke, facing a great evil after moving back to their hometown from Chicago. The movie has been met with outstanding online reviews, and if you don’t have the time to watch, here is my detailed and honest review of the film.
*Spoiler Warning*
The movie starts with a look into the future. Sammy, a preacher’s son, walks into a church mid-sermon with a guitar in his hand and three scars on his face. His father, the preacher, calls him down to the altar. The preacher tells Sammy to put the guitar down and prays that he let go of the life of sin he previously lived.
After the opening scene, the movie introduces us to the rest of the characters, with two main protagonists, twins named Stack, depicted in red, and Smoke, who wears blue. The movie takes us through the twins’ late-night party for Black folks in their community, and recruiting their old friends to help prepare for the occasion. Little do the twins know, an evil force awaits them at the party, turning what was once a safe space for Black Americans to escape Jim Crow for one night into a horror scene where everyone is fighting vampires for a chance at their survival.
One of the main selling points of this movie is its display of Black spirituality and culture. At the party, Sammy is seen playing his guitar and singing for everyone in attendance. During his performance, the camera pans across the room, showing different eras of African American culture and dance, with the audience thoughtfully listening to the song. I’ve watched many movies, but I can’t say I’ve seen anything as immersive or beautiful as this scene. It’s not often that movies properly showcase and demonstrate appreciation for African American culture, so this particular scene makes the movie a lot better for me.
A lot of media discourse is the interpretations that audiences have taken away from the film. I haven’t seen anybody say they’ve understood Sinners in the same way, as some say that the movie is about religion, while others say it’s about shared oppression between Black and White people. I personally think the ability for interpretation makes the movie even better, because it causes you to talk about the movie and watch it again to analyze it further (which I plan on doing).
As for the horror aspect, this isn’t the scariest movie I’ve seen. The film does get gory at times, and there are two “jump scares” in the opening scene, but I don’t think the point of this movie was to scare people.
In general, I give this movie a 7.5/10. What stops me from rating this higher is the fact that, before the vampires are introduced, the movie is a little bit slow, and a first-time viewer may get confused or lost during some of the scenes. However, I do recommend that everyone see Sinners and share their opinions on the movie; it’s a powerful film with phenomenal acting and musical performances, and you’ll definitely enjoy it.