Acclaimed director, Ryan Coogler, has established a reputation for delivering heartfelt, brutally honest drama’s that infuse a passion for social commentary alongside entire world-building stories that force the viewer to feel that the narratives exist outside the platform of the film and live in the real world. Whilst Coogler has also cemented a similar hyped fan base in the Marvel world thanks to his ‘Black Panther’ contributions, his rich filmmaking process thrives in the likes of the brilliant ‘Fruitvale Station’ (2013) which showcases depth, vulnerability and power with a culturally rich lens. Coogler’s new film ‘Sinners’ epitomises all that the director has worked with throughout his career, leading to a result that cements his place as an exciting, creative and powerful creator, who (judging by Sinners) has the potential to be a standout horror director.

Sinners sees identical twins Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan) return to their hometown of Clarksdale, located in Deep South Mississippi, where they plan to open a ‘juke joint’ using stolen money. However, their hopes of escaping trouble and creating a haven is extinguished when sinister vampires infiltrate and bring ruin.

Vampirism in cinema is by no means a recycled trope. It can be generally agreed that there are a handful of films that emulate a rinse and repeat of one another with nothing riveting to add, however, on the whole, vampire themed horror films remain some of the most entertaining, promiscuously wicked to watch pieces of creature-based fiction. And despite the fact that vampires have been tried and tested in nearly every setting, character, theme and so forth, Sinners manages to structure the fanged-predator monster in an entirely fresh light. The antagonistic beasts throughout the film radiate a level of threat and terror that burns deep, surpassing the fear of death and intrinsically igniting a deep sense of menace to the community in Sinners.

In the interest of avoiding spoilers and keeping the secrets of Sinners intact, what can be revealed about the vampires is their strange affinity to music, which Coogler uses as a repeated metaphor throughout. The design of the vampires themselves are alluring yet creepy, particularly during scenes of pandemonium and bloodshed where the villains glow with red fury. But what is not to be underestimated is how the vampires drain not just blood, but the culture, humanity and identity of the living around them. Sinners takes place during the Jim Crow era where racial segregation, discrimination and oppression devastatingly ruled America.

Sinners exploration of systemic and historical prejudice is a theme that cannot be easily decoded as the level of its infusion runs deep throughout the bones of the film in a variety of ways, whether that be through the allegory of vampires representing the takers of freedom and will, the featuring of the Smoke and Stack’s juke joint being a haven that is encroached upon, or the parasitic nature of the film’s evil forces. In many ways Sinners is worthy of many rewatches, with each screening revealing the multitude of layers that Coogler threads throughout.

This same rawness and tonality of the symbolism is further enhanced by the film’s emphasis on the soundtrack, which acts as a keynote throughout. Music plays the role of a lead character, with its inclusion being a catalyst for many of the vital story beats. Besides being

brilliantly entwined with the characters and their relationships to the world, the music is incredibly haunting, textured and intense. The weaponisation of the sound relies on its affinity to the blues and its unrefined aura that comes from a place of soul and experience rather than enacting polished vocals and highly-processed instrumental work.

To crown it all are the performances which are all equally emotionally charged with an aura of authenticity, elevating the roles to possess a level of palpable tension. Notably, the work from Jordan, followed by Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’ Connell, Miles Caron, Wunmi Mosaku, Delroy Lindo and Li Jun Li together form a troupe that speaks to the affective integrity of Sinners; essentially propelling the film to be the compelling and thought-provocative piece that it is.

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