Ryan Coogler’s latest film, Sinners, is a bold and exhilarating departure from his previous critically acclaimed works such as Black Panther and Creed. A southern gothic horror set in the 1930s, the film stars Michael B. Jordan in a dual role as gangster twins Smoke and Stack, who flee Chicago for Mississippi with blood-stained wealth.
Alongside their cousin Sammie, a young blues musician played by newcomer Miles Caton, they aspire to open a Black-owned juke joint in defiance of the Ku Klux Klan. However, a more sinister threat looms.
Coogler’s direction keeps the audience emotionally engaged and viscerally thrilled, delivering both jump scares and poignant moments. The film’s rich cultural and visual layers are underscored by its large-format cinematography. Themes of love, music—particularly blues—and racial tension in the Jim Crow South intertwine with a shocking supernatural twist, as the story evolves into a vampire horror narrative.
A standout performance by newcomer Miles Caton and a strong supporting cast—including Hailee Steinfeld, Wunmi Mosaku, and Delroy Lindo—enhance the emotional depth.
A Cinematic and Musical Tour de Force
The film’s visual storytelling is equally compelling. Shot on 70mm film, the frame throbs with sultry, come-hither reds and golds. The soundtrack is hot-headed and dangerous—not just the blues. There’s a feverish, feral version of the Irish folk song “Rocky Road to Dublin” that still gives me goose bumps a full week later.
A standout sequence features a hallucinatory juke joint performance where Sammie’s blues guitar invokes spirits from both past and future, attracting vampire Remmick (Jack O’Connell), who seeks to harness Sammie’s gift. This scene merges Delta blues with hip-hop, rock, and other genres, accomplished through a musical collaboration between composer Ludwig Göransson and artist Raphael Saadiq. Extensive choreography, visual effects, and live DJing contributed to the immersive cinematographic moment.
Behind the Scenes: How the Vampire Transformation Was Filmed
One of the most talked-about moments in Sinners is a grotesque vampire transformation sequence performed by Jack O’Connell’s character. According to special effects supervisor Dana Knowles, the team used a combination of practical makeup and subtle CGI layering to achieve a visceral, skin-ripping effect that had early test audiences squirming in their seats. The scene took three days to shoot and involved full-body prosthetics, which O’Connell wore for up to 12 hours a day.
Director Ryan Coogler was adamant about capturing the transformation in-camera as much as possible. “We wanted it to feel real, almost mythic,” he said in an interview. “Not just a creature effect, but a turning point in the story’s soul.”
