Sinners

5 outta 5

Sinners deftly balances a musical, jazz, history about life in the US South in 1930s and turns into an incredibly intense vampire movie. Twisting from one genre to another has been done before; the closest comparison is obviously From Dusk Till Dawn that turns from a road trip crime movie to vampire siege film. But both sides of Sinners are fascinating, as there is a deep sense of the supernatural connection between people and music, that then gets entirely twisted when the vampires show up. If anything, this is a piece of southern gothic that hits hard with every unique twist for a gripping cinematic experience.

In 1930s Mississippi, twin brothers Smoke and Stack (Michael B. Jordan in both roles) get all their money, most of it taken by illegal means when they worked in Chicago, to buy a broken-down warehouse and intend to open it that night as nightclub featuring jazz music and exotic alcohol like Irish beers and Italian wine. They recruit folks for opening night, like the young guitar prodigy, Sammie (Miles Caton), doorman Cornbread (Omar Miller), the elderly, drunk jazz musician Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo), and bartender and former flame of Smoke, Annie (Wunmi Mosaku). One of Stack’s old girlfriends, Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), arrives and she is none too pleased with how he left her. But while the festivities start, the power of the music has drawn a bloodthirsty evil, a bunch of vampires led by Remmick (Jack O’Connell). They start to turn multiple patrons into vampires and the survivors must fend off the bloodsuckers until sunrise. But that is looking rather unlikely as the night drags on and the undead keep coming.

Jordan deftly pulls off both roles as the twins, and each character has a distinct attitude. Stack is more concerned about how they’re going to make cash, while Smoke seems to appreciate the artistry of the musicians, and he still has very strong feelings for Annie. There is a moment when he goes to visit her, revealing that they share a tragic loss. Annie knows more about the spiritual and supernatural, which makes her the resident expert when the vampires come knocking. A lot of characters end up getting turned, even one of the brothers and Jordan gets to play both the hero and the deranged vampire. The finale features multiple intense moments from Jordan, and the story with Mosaku as the former love of Smoke has a dramatic payoff.  

O’Connell as Remmick is deliciously duplicitous, starting off begging his way into a home and turns the couple who sheltered him into vampires. When him and his vampires first arrive at the bar, they’re singing songs, trying to get invited in. Being invited into a home is a key part of vampire mythology that adds an extra layer of creepiness. O’Connell also gets a moment when him and his gang of vampires are singing an Irish song and dancing enjoyably about the carnage they are about to unleash, something that feels very much like the gleeful Deadites from the Evil Dead series. Remmick looks more demonic as the night goes on, as do all his possessed minions.

A significant chunk of the people at the bar are turned, and the vampire versions enjoy chomping and turning folks. Steinfeld gets to deliver menacing lines, like when she says the vampires are going to kill everyone, or when she seductively coos that making people vampires will bring them closer together. Miller as the affable if somewhat dim doorman gets a fun scene where he seems rather jubilant as is an undead vampire. He is suddenly insistent on being invited in, saying he is simply being polite, which turns nasty quickly.

The movie takes awhile to get to vampire action with the first half is concerned with how the twins are getting the people together. This culminates when Sammie is playing music that is so good it reaches across time, and different styles of music from the past, present and future happen all at once. The score by Ludwig Göransson is gloriously sweeping with 1930s jazz, ancient tribal music, and modern rap and rock on top of each other. The music calls the vampires to the bar, as a soaring moment of unity crashes into vampire violence. Lindo’s Slim gets to have a crazy blood splattering brawl with the vampires. There is even a moment in the film where the characters devise a test to see who is a vampire, and it’s like the classic human test from The Thing which is a blast to watch.

Sinners is a movie that swaps tones and genres throughout, but each totally works. There is a lot of time examining the tragic history of these characters before it explodes into bloody vampire hellscapes, but that is why it is so interesting as the viewer becomes invested in each of their stories. Also, the film features an extended mid-credits scene for a powerful ending. Not many movies pull off genre jumping between music and vampires, but Sinners makes it a bloody crazy experience.