Sinners (2025)

"You keep dancing with the devil... one day he's gonna follow you home."

In 1932, twins Elijah "Smoke" (Jordan) and Elias "Stack" (Jordan) Moore return to their home town in Mississippi.  They purchase an old saw mill from Hogwood (David Maldonado) and turn it into a juke joint,  Their cousin Sammie "Preacherboy" Moore (Caton) is an accomplished guitarist, and they convince him to play that evening alongside music legend Delta Slim (Lindo) on piano.  They also hire Cornbread (Miller) as doorman, grocers Bo (Yao) and Grace Chow (Jun Li) and Smoke's wife Annie (Mosaku) to provide food and work at the bar.  

Meanwhile, vampire Remmick (O'Connell) also arrives in town, on the run from vampire hunters.  He immediately begins creating more vampires.  They are drawn to Sammie's music and the juke joint.  Smoke and Stack also learn that Hogwood and others plan to attack at dawn.  Can they survive both the supernatural and human threats to their friends and business?

This is an original horror movie that was written, directed, and produced by Ryan Coogler.

The Good:

Michael B. Jordan has the difficult job of portraying 2 characters in the film, but he makes it look easy.  Both Smoke and Stack have distinct personalities and looks and are compelling characters.  This is Miles Caton's film debut and he is one to watch.  Both Jordan and Caton have received acting nominations from award shows and it is expected that at least one will receive an Oscar nomination.  The rest of the cast is also good.

The music is excellent and is influenced by blues, jazz, etc music from the 1930s... and some Irish .  And while I would not consider this film a musical, it does include most of the cast singing and dancing to "Rocky Road to Dublin".

The Bad:

The film makes the most of it's R rating - with gore and language (along with sexual content).

Other Comments:

-Coogler's frequent collaborator Ludwig Goransson wrote the score. 

-Buddy Guy, blues guitarist and singer, portrays Old Sammie

-I do not like horror movies and was not planning to watch this film, but due to the positive reviews and award season buzz, I decided to give it a try.  I didn't dislike the film, but I probably would not watch it again.  But it is worthwhile to see Jackson in dual roles.

Sinners (2025) 138 minutes

Director: Ryan Coogler

Rating: R for strong bloody violence, sexual content and language

Starring: Michael B. Jordan as Elijah "Smoke" Moore and Elias "Stack" Moore

Hailee Steinfeld as Mary

Miles Caton as Sammie "Preacherboy" Moore

Jack O'Connell as Remmick

Wunmi Mosaku as Annie

Jayme Lawson as Pearline

Omar Benson Miller as Cornbread

Delroy Lindo as Delta Slim

Peter Dreimanis as Bert

Lola Kirke as Joan

Li Jun Li as Grace Chow

Saul Williams as Jedidiah Moore

Yao as Bo Chow