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Sinners | The Deight Night Review

Sinners (2025, Ryan Coogler, Warner Bros.)


After over a decade of cultivating his craft telling other people’s stories, whether that be in the form of contributing to a franchise (Black Panther, Creed) or a true to life drama (Fruitvale Station), Ryan Coogler has finally been given a chance to create his own world in the form of vampire horror, Sinners. The film takes place in the American south in the early 1930s and follows gangster twins Smoke and Stack (Michael B. Jordan) who return to their home of Mississippi to organise a huge party celebrating their homecoming. The pair gather their caterers, drinks and musical entertainment but once the party starts it attracts the attention of a band of vampires (led by Jack O’Connell) who are desperate to be invited in. 


Coogler’s experience elevating franchises and bringing lesser known stories to the big screen has all led to Sinners. It’s Coogler’s masterpiece and it's already the film of 2025 so far, but it’s far and away the director’s best project, which is saying a lot given his outstanding track record. The love and passion for storytelling and cinematic horror history drips out of every single frame and every single line of dialogue. Coogler and composer Ludwig Görranson’s adoration for music echoes out of the speakers with every single note of every single song. All the elements of each creative part of Sinners meld together seamlessly to produce an atmosphere of teeth clenching tension and heart wrenching fear. Sinners is a living, breathing definition of a passion project. 


Sinners isn’t always fast paced, but that goes in its favour. The build up to the party where we first truly meet the vampires is slow, but it needs to be. Like the effort put into the film itself, you see how much work goes into the organisation of the party which also serves as an introduction to all the characters that you’ll later see fighting for their lives against the vampire hoard. In a way, in appropriate gangster fashion, the lead up to the party is written and edited in the same fashion as that of a heist, but one with far more sinister, unforeseen consequences - which are subtly hinted at with intricately placed elements of foreshadowing. On the other hand though, once the vampires do start to make an appearance there’s no tedious dragging down of the film with characters all slowly learning the rules we already know about vampires. The characters, especially Wunmi Mosaku’s Annie, get the garlic straight out as soon as they figure out what’s going on after one of their friends is desperate for permission inside the party after already being a guest. 


Jack O'Connell's band of the undead are some of the most intriguing and villainous new vampires in recent memory. Coogler’s love of hammer horror beams through with his respect of the traditional rules of the classic monsters (burning in the sun, stake to the heart etc). However, his talent for innovative and fresh ideas breathes new life into the infamous creatures with their creepy flickering red pupils that linger in the darkness and their connection to music which won’t be delved into here but is certainly a highlight of the film. 


It’s really hard to pin down what’s truly best about Sinners, it’s perfect on every level. Really though it’s just an expertly written horror film. In the same vein as classics like Shaun of the Dead or Train to Busan, when it’s not scaring you to death, it’s giving you intimate and emotional character moments, fleshing the cast out into real three dimensional people with hopes and dreams, making the petrifying moments all the more chilling knowing that some of these characters you’ve grown to care for may not make it out alive. Coogler has always had engrossing characters and gripping scripts and Sinners is in no way an exception with it in fact being an all time high.


There’s not much praise that hasn’t already been shared about Sinners with its early 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s the perfect horror film and has revitalised vampires even more than the also brilliant recent Nosferatu. It’s an instant classic that will be remembered for years to come and has elevated Ryan Coogler to the likes of Williams Friedkin, Brian De Palma and Robert Eggers. Stop reading reviews, just go and watch this masterpiece. 


★★★★★



Sinners is released in UK Cinemas on April 18

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