Of course, Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan delivered again; that’s the dream team of filmmaking.
The film, which had an original production budget of $90 million, grossed approximately $48 million domestically and about $68 million internationally just in its opening weekend.
Sinners shook theaters across the world. The film is categorized as horror/action, but truly is a work of its own. It shares common attributes with the works of Jordan Peele, as it pertains to the intersection of psychological horror and contemporary societal issues and commentary. But make no mistake, there is not a single released movie that is comparable to the genius work of Ryan Coogler. The symbolism displayed throughout the movie is rooted in Black Southern history, trauma, and spirituality. Sinners is not just a horror film, it weaves emotion, intellect, and surreal storytelling in a new and refreshing way.
Sinners follows identical twin brothers Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan btw). These brothers are more than the typical nickel and dime hustlers, they’re gangsters looking to make some quick cash and rebuild themselves after experiencing turmoil and unshakeable trauma. How? By starting a Juke Joint, of course. Keep in mind, this movie is set in the early 1930s in Mississippi. With the assistance of some old acquaintances, they accomplish the goal at hand. However, the same night doors open is the same night a nightmare unfolded. A group of uninvited guests – vampires crash the party, instantly transforming the once live musical event full of joyful dancing souls into a bloodbath.
The supporting cast was a well-crafted group: Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Delroy Lindo, Wunmi Mosaku, Omar Benson Miller, Li Jun Li, Jayme Lawson, Saul Williams, and Jack O’Connell.
I can’t help but give Michael B. Jordan another shoutout for his phenomenal duel performance. The way that he juggled the two characters, Smoke and Stack, at the same time is remarkable. An Oscar-worthy performance.
Beneath The Blood: Symbolism In the Movie
Sundown Towns
Sundown towns, though most prevalent in the South before the 1950s, still cast dark shadows over our present, and Sinners does not evade this dark history. Coogler creatively reconceptualizes the concept, blending history with horror and fantasy. The mill-turned-Juke Joint is more than a simple setting; it is a metaphor. The space purchased by the twins was bought from a white man with a known affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan. In fact, I would argue that the Klan and what they represent are the film’s true villains, hiding in plain sight.
I don’t find it ironic that the vampires that show up at the Juke, eager to be invited in, share such similarities as the racist civilians. They hunt after dark, they target Black bodies, and they must be invited in. Sound familiar? After being transformed into a vampire, Mary stated, “We gone kill every last one of ya.” That statement alone will send chills down anyone’s back. It wasn’t the vampire’s fascination with the Juke, filled with people of color, that caught my attention; it was more so the return of the white group the next morning, ready to hunt…
Why hadn’t the vampires gone after them throughout the night?
Why was the new Juke that was made for the joy and entertainment of Black folk the primary target?
If it were really about simply feeding, the vampires could have targeted anyone in Clarksdale, but they didn’t.
The Juke Joint
But let’s further acknowledge the significance of the Juke Joint. A Juke Joint is an establishment where Black individuals would gather for cheap entertainment like eating, drinking, gambling, dancing, and listening to good music. Jukes were a refuge from segregation… a breath of freedom for many. In this movie, the Juke is still a representation of this, but it also takes the literal role of a haven. When inside, patrons are safe…it’s when they take a step outside the door that one becomes vulnerable. However, the Smoke Stack Juke is special in the sense that it pays homage to the past, present, and future of Black artistry in the realm of dance and music. When Sammie is standing in the center of the club playing his guitar (which also holds power in itself), we see decades of Black art moving around him. The vampires’ targeting of this newly crafted embodiment of Black joy speaks volumes.
The Twins
Beyond the symbolic significance of the Juke Joint, Sinners also presents engrossing character dynamics that warrant deeper examination, more specifically, the examination of the twins. In various mythologies and cultures, twins tend to represent duality, good versus evil, or balance. The two main characters, Smoke and Stack, are practically an inseparable force, but act as opposites of one another. On one end, we have Smoke, the level-headed, logical, and emotionally driven twin. Then there’s Stack, the money-hungry, smooth-talking player. The two accentuate something different within one another, but uniquely underscore the enduring conflict between good and evil within the film’s narrative. This also mirrors the reality of the world we live in today.
That Damn Guitar
The real main character of this movie is the guitar. Initially, I paid minimum attention to the guitar because it comes across as just another detail meant to round out Sammie’s character. It is known from the beginning that Sammie is a musician, but it is not until the movie progresses that we are able to gain a true understanding of the significance of the instrument. Well, remember when I mentioned the spiritual symbolism buried within the film? I’m not solely referencing the practice of voodoo that is touched on. Sammie, being the son of a preacher, clearly grew up immersed in the church. His father, of course, not satisfied with Sammie’s decision to play secular music, views the guitar that Sammie carries with him as an act of rebellion, even sin. He even tells Sammie, “You keep dancing with the devil, one day he’s gonna follow you home.” So when Sammie returns to the church at the end of the movie, beaten, bloodied, just seconds from collapsing in his father’s arms, his father doesn’t seem surprised. But Sammie never releases the guitar. Even after Smoke tells him to get rid of it and his father attempts to pry it from his hands, he holds a firm grasp around the broken handle, clutching it to his heart. In that moment, it hit me that Sammie’s guitar wasn’t just his prized possession or his ticket out of the Delta. That guitar was with him throughout the entirety of the movie. It gave him joy, laughter, and safety. It was his weapon during the unforeseen war. Immediately, this Bible verse hit me, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4.
Sammie’s guitar was his staff. His comfort. His faith.
Sinners is a layered reflection of our past and present, clothed in myth and metaphor. Every scene bleeds symbolism, every line reflects the harsh reality of a history that many have tried to cover, and every note from Sammie’s guitar is a testament to Black art and resilience. Sinners is truly a masterpiece.
