Movie Scene – Sinfully good

This week sees the vampire film get, pardon the pun, an injection of fresh blood from ‘Black Panther’ and ‘Creed’ director Ryan Coogler and his frequent collaborator Michael B Jordan.

Having previously collaborated on the aforementioned films as well as ‘Fruitvale Station’, their entry into the horror genre, ‘Sinners’ could prove to be one pf the year’s sleeper hits.

Mississippi 1932 and twins Smokes and Stacks (both played by Jordan who gives a commanding dual performance) come back home after spending years fighting in WWI and bootlegging in Chicago. Told over the space of one day, the pair plan to open a ‘juke joint’ that very night and go about getting it organised, employing young cousin Sammie (the excellent Miles Caton) and Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo) as musicians, Grace (Li Jun Li) and her husband Bo (Yao) to make food and Smokes’s old flame Annie (Wunmi Mosaku) as a server. Stacks comes with baggage though in the form of old flame Mary (Hailee Steinfeld). Everyone converges on the joint for a night of drinking and dancing which gets interrupted when Irish vampire Remmick (Jack O’Connell) turns up and all hell breaks loose, with the gang having to survive until dawn.

Part history lesson, part vampire flick, ‘Sinners’ oozes class.

Coogler takes his time, instead choosing to let ‘Sinners’ play out as a historical, gangster-filled complex melodrama before introducing the bloodsuckers.

Seamlessly blending southern gothic, western and horror elements, Coogler’s script displays the sense of moral decay and oppression of the time using shots of colossal cotton fields, chain gangs and numerous tales of woe which follow every character. These are cross referenced with the idea of a lawless frontier like many a John Wayne film and both these ideas sit nicely with the horror elements.

For the first 45 minutes or so, Coogler builds tension using various methods before the juke joint actually opens into something which evokes a rich, sweaty and sexy atmosphere that just oozes from the walls thanks to some dirty dancing and hot blues.

At its heart, ‘Sinners’ is a vampire film but it’s about so much more than that; it’s about identity.

‘Sinners’ makes frequent references to ‘the old ways’ whether it’s through old magic, old tales or, more importantly, the music. It’s about where we came from, the stories and the music passed down through generations and where it may lead us for generations to come.

This is best personified through two outstanding scenes; one where Sammie plays to the entire joint and the audience is taken through the pantheon of African American music, from native dance to hip-hop and a then chilling scene featuring O’Connell’s vampire leading his deadly flock in a céilí whist singing ‘Rocky Road To Dublin’. These scenes make the best use of Autumn David Arkapaw’s wonderfully swirling, swooning camerawork which, alongside Ruth E Carter’s gorgeous set and on-point costume design, makes ‘Sinners’ look wonderful throughout as well as Ludwig Goransson’s haunting score making it sound wonderful.

Once the vamps make themselves fully known, the final act goes full ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’ as six defend the joint against an army; the resulting fight becoming an explosion of blood and guts. If I have a criticism it’s how the ‘actual’ ending of the film isn’t revealed until midway through the end credits so, make sure you stay in your seat.

Nevertheless Coogler’s assured direction and vision is one to behold.