Sinners

Seeing a director have the courage to create a unique, visionary blend of two opposite genres is something you rarely see these days. And I love it. Southern America blues and vampires.

The standout here being the incredible soundtrack from no other than Ludwig Göransson. The sexy, bluesy tone is definitely my favourite thing of the film. It was the glue that kept the film going. The film was reminiscent of O'brother Where Art Thou with a healthy dose of From Dusk Till Dawn.

The patience in the first act to set up the thematic relationships and overall story was executed perfectly. Even though we all were expecting the "reveal" to come, the journey to get to that point was arguably the better part of the film.

What separates (and elevates) this film from your standard supernatural horror flick is the fact that the director chose to spend more time in the first act developing our and exploring our characters.

However, in saying this I do feel like the film in the end of the second and entire third act fell into the cliches that they vampire genre usually entails. The last minute sunrise for example or the character who knows all the ins-and-outs of killing a vampire.

I believe at this point the film lost a bit of spark that the first act patiently created.

I still love what Coogler did. The unique genre blend, soundtrack and setting is enough to warrant the praise.

Best film of 2025?

Director and writer Ryan Coogler shared that some of his most vivid cinematic memories come from watching horror films in theaters as a young man - experiences that sparked his deep love for cinema. According to him, "Sinners" is a kind of love letter to that feeling, crafted with the hope that viewers in theaters will experience the same thrill. And honestly? Mission accomplished.

"Sinners" is one of those films best experienced with as little prior knowledge as possible - we strongly recommend not reading anything, not watching trailers, and avoiding all conversations about it beforehand if you can. The film's plot flows with organic ease, taking unexpected and refreshing turns that hit especially well if you go in spoiler-free. So we'll steer clear of plot details here, too.

The initial inspiration behind the film came from Coogler's connection to his late uncle, James, who had a deep interest in music and history, particularly in the Mississippi blues tradition. James's stories and musical tastes left a lasting impression on Coogler and sparked the creative process that ultimately became this film. As you might guess, "Sinners"is at its core a musical film. Not in the sense of a musical or a movie with original songs woven in like "Django Unchained" - rather, music is part of "Sinners"' DNA. It's interwoven into the story, the characters, and the entire atmosphere, offering a unique lens on the culture, folklore, traditions, and struggles of the Black community in 1930s Mississippi.

The man behind the original score is the multi-talented Ludwig Göransson ("Oppenheimer", "Tenet", "Black Panther"), who, beyond being a top-tier music producer, continually reinvents himself with every project he touches. "Sinners" is no exception. In his relatively short but rich career, Göransson has produced electronic scores, orchestral compositions, and even rap and R&B. Here, he pivots once again - blending the score with musical production in an inspired exploration of the Blues and Country genres, in line with the film's tone. Traditional sounds, ambient textures, and gritty audio design are all used to balance the experience.

It's undoubtedly one of the finest soundtracks we've heard in recent years - one that elevates the film to another level. Göransson continues to prove himself as one of the most gifted musicians of our era, and it's no wonder that none other than Christopher Nolan chose him as his go-to composer, following Hans Zimmer. In "Sinners", the soundtrack also features live performances and original songs, and a separate album has even been released featuring both songs from the film and those inspired by it.

Visually, Coogler made a bold artistic choice - one reminiscent of cinema's greatest auteurs, like Nolan and Denis Villeneuve - to shoot the film using wide-format film stock, opting for analog cinematography. Specifically, the most grand and pure formats available: IMAX 15-perf 70mm and Ultra Panavision 70mm. This wasn't just an aesthetic decision, but an effort to merge the raw texture of classic cinema with the sheer visual power of modern technology - a symbolic gesture aligning with the themes the film explores. Coogler even sought guidance from Nolan himself, along with Emma Thomas, to master the use of these formats - not for bragging rights, but to amplify the film's emotional weight.

Another standout aspect of the film is the screenplay. It's written with a natural rhythm and flow, featuring smart, unexpected humor and effortlessly blending a range of genres. Coogler, who served as both writer and director, brings the script to life with mastery, drawing the best out of each genre he touches. Above all, his use of the IMAX format is impressively deliberate and effective.

Michael B. Jordan plays two distinct characters in the film - and not in a gimmicky or disconnected way. These characters interact constantly - they're twins - which makes for a serious acting challenge. Jordan rises to the occasion, and the visual effects team behind the scenes pulls it off beautifully, with impressive execution on every technical level. Visually, the film is nothing short of stunning.

Alongside Jordan, musician Miles Caton gives a remarkably strong performance in the second lead role. I was genuinely surprised to learn this was his first-ever acting role. Jack O'Connell is also outstanding, and the radiant Hailee Steinfeld dazzles on screen and delivers a compelling performance. While she doesn't sing in the film itself, she is featured on the movie's official soundtrack. Overall, the cast is excellent, and the chemistry is on point.

Every few months, there comes along an event film that simply must be seen - and "Sinners" is unquestionably one of them. It's one of the best films we've seen in recent memory: energetic, gripping, occasionally funny, with a sharp script, top-tier directing, brilliant performances, and musical ingenuity that stuns scene after scene. It has all the makings of a strong contender for film of the year. We highly recommend watching it in theaters - in the best auditorium you can find. IMAX, if possible, is absolutely the way to go.

Written by Dvir971 & Orr971.

For years I've been emphasizing the importance of music in movies; how an amazing musical score can significantly elevate a movie. It shouldn't just be background dressing. It should be brought to the forefront. It should drive the story. It should be a character in itself. It should give you goosebumps in the big moments. Sinners is one of the best examples of this.

Aside from the music, I could tell I was watching high-quality filmmaking within five minutes. The directing, camerawork, editing, and sound design are pristine. The entire cast does a great job, but Michael B. Jordan shines. He is a superstar.

Sinners is also surprisingly funny, without taking away from the seriousness. And the horror elements are... satisfying. This movie goes hard.

Advice: Certain scenes have an expanded aspect ratio that will only be shown in IMAX. If you can't go to an IMAX, any premium screen will do (Dolby Cinema, UltraScreen, EMX, etc). This movie benefits more than most from the larger screen and louder speakers.

Also, I missed A LOT of the dialogue, you may want to ask for a closed caption device.

(1 viewing, opening night IMAX 4/17/2025)

You came in expecting fangs, stakes, blood, smoking crucifixes and girls screaming. You imagined an arty version of Blade, with Michael B. Jordan staking vampires between sets of push-ups.

Well, guess what, buddy? Surprise: you walked into a Ryan Coogler film that serves you blues, poetry, and Black pain like a sacred offering.

The film plays like The Legend of 1900 remixed by Robert Johnson mid-satanic pact. The horror? It's a metaphor. The monsters? Symbols. And you, the viewer? A willing victim who realizes twenty minutes in that you're not watching a slasher... you're deep in a mystical odyssey shot like a fever dream on opium.

Twins. One actor. Zero missteps. No crappy green screen, no clunky split-screen from The Parent Trap. Nah-this is clean, surgical, fluid. You'd swear the guy was cloned in a cave by a Shaolin monk.

And the wildest part? He plays both brothers with completely different energies. One radiates light, the other broods darkness, and both exude elegance and pain in equal measure. This isn't acting-it's black magic. At this level, it's no longer performance-it's full-blown demonic possession captured in 4K.

Want originality? You got it. No looped rap tracks like in 99% of U. S. films about Black characters. Here, it's the blues. The real stuff. The kind that comes from guts, chains, cotton fields, and dust. And believe me-it cuts deeper than a Slash guitar solo strung with prison wire.

Every note haunts you. Every chord summons ghosts. The music is a doorway between worlds, a call to the Old Ones, a ritual that raises goosebumps. Ryan Coogler delivers a film where the score isn't just background-it's a damn hex. You don't listen-you endure it. And you want more.

There's one scene. Just one. But my God. Straight into the cinematic hall of fame.

The party scene.

At once orgiastic, sacred, primal and cosmic. It's Eyes Wide Shut in the bayou. There's voodoo, groove, bodies melting together, lurking entities, and a one-take shot that knocks the wind out of you like three shots of mezcal and a bad peyote trip.

It's not just well-made-it's divine. Filmed from the gut, edited with fire and silence, it grabs your stomach and wrings out your spine. The kind of scene that makes you believe God listens to the blues in a sweaty Louisiana basement.

We love Coogler. But someone needs to tell him: bro, your intro plays like an episode of Murder, She Wrote. You wanna build atmosphere? Fine. But don't make us wait an hour with "Twins Return to the Village and Do Mystical Gardening."

It drags. It stretches. You wait for the film to kick in like you're waiting for meaningful reform in France. Meanwhile, flashbacks hit every ten minutes, reminding you that pain is apparently a damn art form.

It's noble, it's deep-but man, it's long. This needed some trimming, less Terrence Malick meditation, and a bit more fang in this occult fable.

You came for chills, you got a full-on spiritual initiation drilled into your spinal cord.

Sinners promises the Devil, delivers the blues, and implants visions in your mind. It's slow to start, yeah.

But when it hits... it hits like a sermon from Hell.

It's not a slap. It's an incantation. A trance. A film that doesn't scare you-but follows you into your dreams like a damned old bluesman whispering in your ear with B. B. King's voice and the stare of a demon.

And that's when you get it: When you dance with the Devil long enough... It's not him coming to you- It's you who opens the door.

I love it when movies mix different genres and create a fresh spin on old themes. In this case however the different elements didn't mix well in my opinion: I would describe sinners as a mix between period gangster drama, musical and trashy B-movie horror. This sounds super exciting on paper, but in reality it threw me off completely. I feel like the movie tries to do everything at the same time but doesn't deliver on many of those aspects: It wants to hit the viewer on an emotional level but left me personally completely cold - I didn't care who died or who lived; The movie kinda wants to be scary but the "enemies" in the film feel like a complete joke from the first scene they are shown and it takes away all the tension; It wants to be action-packed and explosive, but the fight scenes are kinda boring and left me wanting to move on to more serious scenes again, even though those serious scenes are kind of a slow burn; The film wants to be funny and even though it made me chuckle a bit it never really took it far enough to justify sacrificing the big threat in the film for laughs.

In conclusion: This movie is too boring and slow to be an entertaining action-comedy and doesn't take the humor and fight scenes far enough to really have an impact. At the same time this movie is far too ridiculous to be a serious scary and emotional movie that reaches you on any kind of emotional level.

I would have liked it, if they would have sacrificed the humor for building a serious threat that feels genuinely scary and terrifying. The cinematography, costumes and music are fantastic but this is just not enough for me to make it a good film, when the story is not hitting. There are single parts of the movie that I absolutely loved and I would have really appreciate those scenes as standalone music videos, but it just doesn't mix well with the rest in my personal opinion.

In addition to my previous criticisms I spotted some typical clichés in the dialogue writing that made me roll my eyes and there were some moments where I found it extremely hard to believe that certain characters survived. I could go in to detail here but I want to keep my review vague to avoid spoilers.

To me watching this movie felt a bit like eating chocolate on a burger - Both elements are nice by themselves but together they don't make for a nice meal.