I’ve been looking for people’s reviews that aren’t just summaries of the movie but more of reflections, initial reactions, and their thoughts on other peoples’ ideas. They always say if you can’t find it, then it’s for you to do it yourself. Here are my thoughts on the 2025 movie Sinners (in a semi-chaotic manner).
In this essay I will… nerd out. My Bachelor’s Degree is officially a Bachelor’s of Art in Electronic Media & Film Studies with a Concentration in Film Studies with a Minor in Sociology. Sinners got my gears going!!
When I first heard about Grilled Cheese back in 2024 now known as Sinners being a movie by Ryan Coogler starring Michael B. Jordan and would have Black vampires I was immediately interested. In my blog Director’s Cut I wrote about my favorite Black directors, including Ryan Coogler. I wrote “In undergrad when I was able to choose a director to study I wrote nearly every paper on Ryan Coogler. Creed had just come out and I was fascinated with the way he directed it; from the framing to the montages. I loved that he used all of the same crew and many of the same cast members for every film he does. That’s how I was introduced to Ludwig Göransson… The way that Ryan brings you into the scenes it’s like you’re transported into whatever world the film takes place in. I love directors that can bring the viewer into the world of the film.” These same signature traits (framing, montages, world building, consistent cast & crew) were some of my favorite things about the movie Sinners.
Foreshadowing Essays
Undergrad Essays - Winter 2016
In this 2016 essay for my Studies in Film class I write that Ryan and Ludwig are on pace to change the way Hollywood creates movies based on their genre blending techniques. Now 9 years later they have quite literally changed the way Hollywood makes movies by making a film (not by Chris Nolan) on 65mm-70mm film (actual film) and blended genres.
When studying Creed I noticed then that Ludwig & Ryan used the score to tell character story while also progressing the overall story. I notice this technique again in Sinners in the Thru The Ages scene - what I consider to be the best scene of the movie. In Sinners the score was used to tell us (instead of show) Delta Slim & Sammie’s pasts.
I also want to note that during that time a stance that I had and continue to have is that the Golden Age of Hollywood was not the 1920s or even in the past because of the racism, limiting stories, and lack of diversity. I also wrote in my Film in the African American Experience class that the Golden Age of Black Hollywood was not the Blaxploitation era or even the 90s because the stories were limiting and very monolithic. That the Golden Age of Black Hollywood hasn’t happened yet. I felt (and still feel) Black Stories needed to be more than just hood stories and Black trauma. I think the Golden Age of Black Hollywood & Golden Age of Hollywood will be in the future when we have diverse stories.
For Black Hollywood diversity in Blackness not being a monolith.
For Hollywood diversity in cast, stories, and no racism.
I received bad grades and backlash from professors because of my non-traditional idea. But I love when I’m right! Even if it is 9 years later.
As I said above I love that Ryan uses the same crew in all of his movies. Sinner his first original screenplay is no different.
Michael B. Jordan Smoke & Stack
Fruitvale Station
Creed & Creed II + Creed III (produced by Coogler)
Black Panther & Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Space Jam: A New Legacy (produced by Coogler)
Ludwig Göransson - Composer & Executive Producer
Fruitvale Station
Creed & Creed II + Creed III (produced by Coogler)
Black Panther & Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Space Jam: A New Legacy (produced by Coogler)
Autumn Durald Arkapaw - Director of Photography
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever & Sinners
Ruth E. Carter - Costume Designer
Black Panther & Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Ryan’s wife is a credited producer on all of his projects.
I’d also like to note he used some of his fellow Marvel actors as well: Wunmi Mosaku (Annie) - Loki and Hailee Steinfeld (Mary) - Hawkeye.
In 2016 I tweeted Ryan Coogler (Creed) and F. Gary Gray (Straight Outta Compton) came out with the best movies of 2015. Now 10 years later and Ryan Coogler has done it again!
Press Tour, Promo, Marketing
I’d been looking forward to this since it was revealed in 2024 that Ryan Coogler & MBJ had another movie in the works. Anything Ryan Coogler I’m watching as soon as it comes out. But the initial marketing of this movie made me question if I would go see it.
I don’t think this movie was marketed in the best way. It was marketed as MBJ and vampires. When it’s so complex, layered, and more of a love letter to Black Culture & Blues Music. It has vampires but that’s not ultimately what it’s about. I read the synopsis once it was out in previews and I that’s actually what drew me in then after the Kodak video Ryan Coogler did I decided to go see it in imax.
That IMAX - Kodak video was the best promo tool!
After watching a bunch of press tour promo I will now be saying right on like Ryan Coogler.
I’ve never seen the timeline this united that a movie is incredible. I’ve never seen so many people talking about 1 movie. Black Panther was close and again same director and composer but still not as much. Every one of my social media timelines is talking this movie and how incredible it is, their thoughts, takes, and reviews.
The reviews opening weekend for sureeeee marketed this movie well. Word of mouth will always be the best marketing tool.
Story Structure
I love that this movie was a dope example of text book strategy in the most interesting way!
Act 1
The way the 1st act built the characters stories and got us invested
Act 2
The Juke, the party, the confrontation - incident, disaster
Act 3
The fight, the climax, wrapping it up by killing the klan, the final scene
End Credit Scene(s) - Epilogue
Make sure you stay for the mid credit end scene!
Genres
To me Sinners wasn’t just a horror tho it was marketed that way. I believe it had horrific moments, but I’d consider it to be multiple genres. I’d mostly consider Sinners to be a Horror, Southern Gothic, Psychological Thriller, Musical, Drama, and at times felt like a Western. Below I explain the traits I feel Sinners depicts of each genre I feel that it is apart of.
Horror
Storytelling aims to evoke fear, dread, disgust, other worldly forces
Jump scares, dreadful music, crows & snakes, vampires, klan members
Gothic setting slaughter haunted house (slaughter house), isolated landscapes - the white klan house, dark environment - nighttime
Psychological + Physical fear - suspense, violent imagery, explore supernatural
Full of “what’s going to happen?”, shooting, gore, vampires,
Western
Between mid 1800s - late 19th centruty (1932), supporting characters who represent way of life (share croppers), morality (death & life - what will you choose?), sacrifice (wooden nickels, leaving home), struggle between law (klan) and order, challenges of life are theme, stage coach (train) cowboys (Choctaw), wide landscape (cotton fields)
Clarksdale, Mississippi is just east of the Mississippi so I’m hesitant to qualify this movie as a Western and leaning more towards Southern Gothic.
It felt like a Western in Act 1 when Smoke was going to see Bo & Grace the town was split in two with the Black people on one side and white people on the other, Smoke had a showdown in the middle of the road shooting the guys trying to break into his car. To me those are scenes in a traditional western style movie.
Southern Gothic
Set in American South (Clarksdale, Mississippi) - macabre (disturbing and horrifying because of involvement with or depiction of death or injury), grotesque (blood), fantastic elements (vampire), flawed south
Southern landscape (cotton fields), explores violence (shooting and killing), alienation (Black People on one side and white people on the other, only the Asian’s can mix, but not the Natives), decay (crows), racism (Jim Crow South), poverty, + occultism (spirituality considered magic - Hoodoo)
Romance
Explores the complexities of romantic relationships
Smoke & Annie || Stack & Mary || Sammie & Pearline || Cornbread & Therise
Comedy
Induces laughter, comedic moments, paradox deliberately mimics + ridicules the jokes would be like “no duh”
Ex: you boys twins? Nah we cousins
Psychological Thriller
Moral ambiguity, anxieties and fears of characters, complex characters moral dilemmas, internal conflict, inner turmoil of main character
No one person was always fully right or wrong except Annie she was right every time.
Full of anxieties, fears, complex moral dilemmas, internal conflict and turmoil in characters
Drama
Emotionally charged narrative (why we needed to get invested in the characters in Act 1)
Emphasizes the exploration of complex emotions
Life, death, grief, abuse, slavery, freedom, etc
What is freedom to each character?
Conflicts are both internal + external
Setting reflects the characters lives and contributing to overall emotional impact
Share croppers, segregation
Serious tone - at times was serious
When Smoke asks Annie why the mojo bag and prayers didn’t save their child.
Biopic
Dramatizes the life of a real group of people
Real non-fictional person (Buddy Guy) has face scars
Black People are real - dramatizes a real group of people
Clarksdale, MS is a real place
Folklore
Stories passed down, relatable characters, valuable + moral lessons
On Spotify adding in the Boston ship wreck, Chicago Italian + Irish Mob War, Bank robbery
Artifacts - gold - Irish
Leprechaun with the gold coin took souls
Reflect a culture’s history - Black, white, Irish
Folk music
Pearline x SonHouse
Religion & Spirituality
Explores various aspects of beliefs, practices, and spiritual experiences
Musical
Films where characters break into song and dance intertwined with the narrative to express emotions, develop characters, and advance the plot
Delta Slim
Sammie
Pearline
Thru the Ages Music Scene
Urban Fantasy
Blends magic / supernatural and city with characters inspired by myths, folklore, urban legends, paranormal beings
Conflicts - tension with urban setting (town with white people on one side and Black people on the other)
The city is it’s own character
Action Adventure
Fights + shoots - fast paced physical challenges, daring characters
Action: physically demanding
Adventure: exciting journey (getting all the characters to the Juke), risk, danger, exploration
Thriller
Suspense, emotional intensity, focuses on the push and pull between main character
Themes
Community
The Black community in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
Church
Everyone knowing the Smoke-Stack Twins
When Smoke & Stack came back they went to their community to get their idea off the ground
Sammie, Bo & Grace, Annie, Delta Slim, Cornbread, folks at the train station
Affection
I talked to my best friend about how I appreciated the way that the brothers made sure to tell each other that they loved one another. To protect themselves. Make sure the others back was watched.
I appreciated that the men who were seen as hard core gangsters (Smoke & Stack) made sure to tell their respective women (Annie & Mary) that they loved them, and that they missed them.
Spirituality
Mojo Bag
Has me reflecting because he kept it around his chest for 7 years. It’s similar to how folks wear crosses or necklaces from their loved ones. Is that like a mojo bag?
You may not believe in a religion but because this family member who loved you gave it to you, you keep it around your neck for protection.
Hoodoo is practiced by most Black People and most don’t event know.
Church
Money
I hadn’t heard about wooden nickels until Sinners. I had heard about plantation money but not specifically wooden nickels. I wonder if that’s where the saying “all money ain’t good money” comes from?
Some believe money = freedom
Freedom
Who is truly free?
What really is freedom?
Blues Music
Where it came from.
Thru The Ages - what it turned into
Initial Thoughts Review
I absolutely loved it!
10/10
Best movie of the year!
They better win all the awards
You could tell it was made with so much care!
It was a love letter to Black culture.
The movie I would say was not a horror. It had horrific elements but as Carmelo said on his Podcast those are demons folks face everyday.
I felt it was more of a psychological thriller it had elements of drama, comedy, it was a musical, and a documentary all in one.
The horror part or horrific elements were very dang that seemed real…
The vampires were klan so either way they were going to kill the Black people.
The best scene was the one shot steady cam music thru the ages scene. Wow that was tremendous.
This movie stuck with me.
The way the music seeps into your soul. The score was tremendous!
The scene when Annie + Smoke (Elijah) get to be back with their baby that was born sleeping (I presume) was so beautiful. It made me think of how my Grandma got to go mother her daughter who was born sleeping. To was shot so beautifully.
When the frame widens out it’s like wow, it took me a while to notice that it was all of the action - vampire scenes.
When Annie told Smoke “oh your body remembers me” loved that!
Also apparently one needs to research vampires + cunnilingus because apparently they love sex or something.
Amazing movie which I feel should be in the National Film Registry.
In 2035 I believe this film should be inducted into the National Film Registry because it is culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant.
Culturally - Black Culture, Blues Culture in the Mississippi Delta
Historically - taught lots of people about blues and its cultural significance it’s significance on the world.
Historically - 1 of 6 horror films to reach $200M and it isn’t even on dvd yet!
Currently in the top 10 grossing horror movies of all time
1 of 4 - It (2017), The Exorcist (1973), Sinners (2025), and Jaws (1975) - to gross $300M in the box office
Highest grossing film since the pandemic (2020)
Aesthetically - shot on 65mm & 70mm film - IMAX
I feel like just as I said in 2016 Ryan + Ludwig are going to change the way Hollywood makes movies and scores because they will blend genres. Ahh, I love being right.
I also liked the hoodoo aspect and we as Black People incorporate it into our lives more than we realize.
This is the most united I’ve ever seen anyone on a movie ever. We genuinely loved it and I love that!
After A Few Days Review
I’ve been looking for reviews for Sinners and so far I like Jamila Bell, I’d been seeing Straw Hat Juju, and I liked a girl Blaque Witch YaYa review hers on some of the spirituality elements.
I’m seeing views were people are saying
Smoke - Blue - Crip - Good
Stack - Red - Blood - Evil
To the folks saying the killing the klan scene was unrealistic is why we’re in what we’re in now. It’s realistic because people actually did.
Genres: Horror, Comedy, Western, Southern Gothic, Psychological Thriller, Drama, Romance, Folklore, Biopic
Some are saying sundown towns maybe the lore of not just staying away from the klan but also vampires and also the klan was vampires.
Pullman Train
Reminded me when my Grandma said her dad worked for the Greyhound.
Pullman Yards Atlanta - Pullman Train
Listen to your gut.
At the cars before Smoke & Stack split up and the snake showed up Smoke was like maybe tonight’s a bad night and we should do next week. Like bro whenever you get a feeling like that do it next week because something bad always happens.
Tho someone mentioned it didn’t matter when they did it the klan was coming as soon as they seen them get active…
Also Smoke tells Sammie to watch Stack’s back because he forgets to + yup - foreshadowing.
I absolutely loved bringing the iconic Sugar Shack photo to life.
I loved this film paying homage and teaching people that blues music is the origins of so much music.
Hoodoo is practiced and ingrained in so much Black life.
I loved that these Black men made sure to say they loved each other to the folks they loved.
Sammie just ridin around with his cousin is every young Black kids’ dream.
Apothecary! Annie was in an apothecary. I learned what an apothecary is a few years ago and when I seen her in one I was like yoooo! I haven’t thought about an apothecary since I read the This Poison Heart Duology a few years ago.
Looking on social media I seen that it’s rumored that Elijah - Elias never died just ascended and that they were one and the same person.
Elijah (Hebrew) | Elias (Greek + Latin)
The folk / legends / lore that is in this move is so interesting.
When Elijah said “poppa was here” when he held the baby like he did at the grave to let her know who he is got to me.
Sammie naming his club Pearline’s.
After one night! I have so many jokes.
I wonder if Stack & Mary were locked inside the slaughter house Juke?
Someone said Grace saved the town cause they killed the vampires since she let them in.
But to me she effed it up for everyone.
The Choctaw.
I want their back story
They were the DP Autumn’s family. I thought that was so cool that she was able to include them in this film.
I’d also like to know more on their spirituality since we seen Hoodoo & Christianity in this film.
I want Sammie’s story.
After the crazy night, after he left town.
This part gave biopic vibes because of the legendary blues player Buddy Guy in the end as older Sammie.
In terms of film breakdown was the Music Thru The Ages scene the climax or would the climax be the fight scene?
Since this is technically a love letter to blues would that, being considered the best scene be the climax?
I want the story of Stack + Mary while they were vampires.
Where did they go?
What did they do between turning into vampires (1932) and seeing Sammie at Pearline’s (1992).
They talk about vampires being around port cities off of the oceans but San Antonio and now Clarksdale are technically off of rivers.
I like Smoke teaching the young girl bartering skills, that she’s worth more, and the value of time and money.
I’m interested in her backstory.
Now that she has this knowledge from Smoke what does she do with it? How does her life turn out?
Irish Mob vs Italian Mob and the vampire is Irish 🤔
The editing is phenomenal!!
MBJ - one person was two people on screen at the same time in most of the movie! This needs an award!!!
Shout out to the great Ruth E Carter who used costuming to tell incredible stories for each character through their wardrobe.
How we can tell Smoke vs Stack in colors
The best scene is the one shot of music past, present, and future. All intertwined.
Jamila also talks about when Bo tells his daughter to get her mother and it’s a one shot and the girl goes across the street to a tense store which is the white side.
Smoke, she ain’t seen you in 7 years and you f-ck from the back, huh? Nah you gotta face me! But she said his body remembers her so maybe that’s how she likes it.
Someone also mentioned based on the camera angles we see the women’s pleasure in Annie and Pearline.
Foreshadowing because Stack knew Mary would get him killed from being white passing. Someone mentioned she could’ve killed everyone once she was in but all she wanted was Stack and you know what, yeah.
Delroy Lindo (Delta Slim) + Miles Caton (Sammie) should win best supporting actor for their roles in this film.
What a tremendous first acting role for Miles Caton, he is a true entertainer
Pearline girl where was your husband!? Y’all was really sinnin!!
I feel bad for my guy Cornbread, he never got to get the head from his wife…
Someone said their alcoholism was tingling seeing Delta Slim and man look sometimes it really be like that 😂🥃
I love how the movie opened up with the like cave drawings and interpretations for different cultures.
Can be seen on the Sinners Movie Spotify Page
Griots are West African storytellers, musicians, and oral historians, praise singers who play a crucial role in presenting and transmitting the history and traditions and cultural knowledge.
I love movies teaching me things that I want to share with others.
I loved the golds the Black folk had in!
The casting was amazing, all that dark skin was perfect!
The music was intoxicating.
The score is phenomenally done.
I want a film strip and fangs!
Fan Art
I love the fan art!!
Love Letter
Ryan wrote the audience a thank you after opening weekend but also this movie is a love letter to Black Culture, to the Black South, to Blues Music.
Thank You
Bro Ryan wrote us the audience a thank you, man bro thank you! This movie was amazing!!
