Sinners is a film that came out April 18, 2025. The movie is set in 1930’s Mississippi, and follows the story of Sammie Moore, and his cousins, Smoke and Stack. The cousins have come back from Chicago, and are planning on building a juke joint. With help from various characters, such as the town’s shop owner Bo Chow and his wife Grace, they are able to have a successful first open night of their juke. But, the night takes a turn when an Irishman named Remick shows up at the door. The cousins and their friends refuse to let them in, causing conflict, leading the night into darkness.
The Review
As a critic, I really loved this movie. You can always tell when a director has put in a lot of time, effort, and passion into their work, and Coogler is no exception. I think that this film is a 10/10. I loved the characters, set design, the soundtrack… Everything about this film was perfect. Also, because I love history and horror, I thought it was amazing how Ryan Coogler could create such an in-depth film with ties to America’s history, while also creating such a good, scary “villain.” I loved the direction Coogler went with having a classic movie monster be used to show a part of history and be used as a piece in the complexity of the story as a whole. Besides the amazing story and plot, I really enjoyed the soundtrack of the film. My personal favorite was “I Lied to You.” I legitimately got goosebumps upon hearing it for the first time, it was amazing. The music also tied beautifully into the storyline, and created such a good atmosphere for the film. The characters were also very well written into the story. I loved how you didn’t need an explanation why there was a race boundary within the film. There is a scene where the daughter of Bo Chow has to switch stores, which are segregated in the deep South at this time, from the shop that is for people of color to the shop that is exclusively for white people. You don’t really see any signs or anything that would make it obvious, but you can see the change in the type of people that are going to the store, and you can hear certain dialogue in the background shift. The dialogue can be briefly heard, and it is white people talking about how it’s separate but equal, a reference back to the famous Plessy v. Ferguson case, which created the term “separate but equal.”
Final Thoughts:
I believe this movie is great for people who are really into history, and can rely on a deep knowledge of the history of the United States. But, if you’re not a history nerd, that is ok, because the movie is still a fulfilling watch, and is a great movie to watch especially around Halloween or fall.
