Sinners Takes Its Time—Then Bites Down Hard

Sinners

★ ★ ★ ★

Sinners is a thought-provoking horror film that takes its time to set up the story, establish the characters and drive an emotional connection to both. The script moves like a freight train—slow at first, then barreling off the rails into bloody chaos.

The backdrop of this film, set in 1932 Clarksdale, Miss., is a certain kind of music said to be so powerful that it can conjure past and future spirits. Of course, this includes evil spirits, which is where our train of chaos will take us.

The film starts with Sammie (Miles Caton) going out with his cousins, twin brothers Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan). Sammie is a talented blues guitarist and vocalist, something that generates disapproval from his father, a pastor named Jedediah (Saul Williams). Sammie assures Jedediah he’ll be back for Sunday service the next morning.

Michael B. Jordan as twin brothers Smoke and Stack
© 2025 Warner Bros. Pictures

The twins have just purchased an abandoned saw mill with cash. They stole a lot of money from gangsters in Chicago to open a juke joint.

Sammie will help Stack recruit some musicians in town and secure products and materials for the juke. They’re also there to let the town know that Club Juke will be open that evening with food, drinks, music and dancing.

Stack recruits a local musician, a legendary blues guitarist named Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo), while Smoke recruits some security–a man named Cornbread (Omar Benson Miller).

Jack O’Connell as vampire Remmick
© 2025 Warner Bros. Pictures

During their recruiting, Smoke will reunite with his estranged wife Ruthie (Andrene Ward-Hammond), Stack will reconnect with his lost love Mary (Hailee Steinfeld) and Sammie will become infatuated with a married woman named Pearline (Jayme Lawson).

As the club prepares to open, a man named Remmick (Jack O’Connell) begs for the help of Bert (Peter Dreimanis) and Joan (Lola Kirke) on their farm. The couple are reluctant to help, and for a reason explained later in the film, Remmick must be invited in. He offers them gold for protection and is granted entry.

After this elaborate, fundamentally important setup, Sinners quickly switches gears and becomes one of the best vampire movies in recent years. This is where the Mississippi drama derails into a monster mash of blood and mayhem—and it works on every level.

It works because the groundwork was laid so well.

Michael B. Jordan ready to fight
© 2025 Warner Bros. Pictures

Sinners has more on its mind than monsters. Despite its horror genre, often known for mindless, pointless violence, this movie has some deep, rich undertones that will take multiple viewings to grasp. This movie is deep.

The film explores the high cost of fame—the heavy price artists pay for stardom. It’s a brutal allegory for the music industry—the leeches, the soul-suckers, the monsters behind the curtain.

Like a slow blues riff that builds to a howling crescendo, Sinners takes its time—but when it hits, it hits hard.