It all comes full circle in Ryan Coogler’s Resurrection Weekend masterpiece, Sinners (Warner Bros. Pictures, 2025). Identical twins, in media res narrative, interconnected suffering, life, death and rebirth. Despite the social media Christian uproar about a horror film premiering the same weekend as Easter, I’d argue that Sinners is exactly the reason for the season. Let’s get into it y’all, spoiler-lite* this time around!

*I’m walking through some narrative set up of the film, but nothing more than would be gathered in the first 15 minutes of Sinners’ 137-minute runtime, and certainly none of the best bits of the film! I’ll also cover trigger warnings near the end, clearly labeled so you can easily skip, if you’d prefer!

I Can Tell You What It Is, I Can Tell You What It Isn’t

Sinners invites us to spend 24 hours with Preacher Boy Sammie, a gifted Black guitarist in Jim Crow Mississippi on October 16, 1932. We begin the narrative in media res: Sammie arrives at his father’s church on Sunday morning covered in blood and clearly traumatized. The rest of the film’s narrative lives in the 24 hours beforehand. We learn that Sammie lives on a sharecropping plantation with his family, scraping out a meager existence. Enter the return of his idolized older twin cousins, Elijah and Elias, aka Smoke and Stack infamously known throughout the Delta as the Smokestack Twins. The charismatic brothers enlist Sammie and a host of other friends in the community to open their own juke joint. We spend the first 50ish minutes of the film getting to know the main cast in the light of day, and are feeling well-ensconced within the warm, tightly-knit community well before nightfall. The film’s action launches to soaring heights when the evening’s good time is disrupted by a knock at the door from a stranger.

The High Notes

• Outstanding Acting All Around: Sammie, portrayed by the outrageously talented Mike Caton in his debut acting role is our narrative set piece, and he is a standout in a crew of greats. It also cannot go without saying that Michael B. Jordan gave a strong showing as twins, Smoke and Stack; masterfully landing the tall order of dual roles: imbuing each character with their own personality and showing, not telling, the characters’ dynamic. MBJ executed eloquently: the relationship between Smoke and Stack is felt and drives the story forward at critical junctures. Delroy Lindo, Jayme Lawson, Hailee Steinfeld, and Wunmi Mosaku round out the core cast, and there’s not a single miss amongst the bunch. Which brings us to…
• Real and Well-Written Women: It is such a treat to encounter a complex and compelling woman character in media. In Sinners, Coogler gives us four. Annie, Mary, Pearline and Grace are all powerhouses in their own right, written with their own willful narratives and motivations. All four actresses masterfully bring their characters to life, lighting up the screen with wisdom, beauty and badassery.
• Thrumming Action Throughout: There are no slow or filler scenes. Every sequence is captivating and relevant. The audience is truly invited into the budding excitement of the evening: we’re poised for the merriment and adventure which do not disappoint.

The Low Notes

• None. I’ve heard some grumbles about accent and diction consistency amongst the cast, but everything I heard felt authentic and resonant to the story. (Granted, my people ain’t from Mississippi, so my own native familiarity is limited!)

The Liner Notes

Still on the fence about watching? Here’s what you might want to know before you do.

• Genre: If I have a single controversial take about this film, let it be this: I’m not sure Sinners is a horror film. I’d actually predominantly name historical fiction, and then secondarily magical realism with horror coming in third in my label-making. So, for anyone on the fence about a scary film, the tension is ever-present but the supernatural is not. 
• Format: Many were energized by Coogler’s delightful 11-minute explanation of film aspect ratios for Kodak. As a direct result of this video, I saw the film twice during opening weekend in both 4DX and IMAX. Please let me be clear: this film in 4DX is a treat! Wind whistling past your head when bullets fly, full body rocking along with vehicles, smoke at the train station and water blasts to the face to accompany gushes of blood. The film is great in any format, but if you can afford to splurge, Sinners in 4DX is worth it.
• Goodies: There are not one but TWO cut scenes. Stay seated until the screen is black!
• Content Rating: Sinners is rated R for strong bloody violence, sexual content and language. There are covered sex scenes, explicit references to sex acts and references to grievous bodily harm, on-screen violence and blood. So, so, so much blood.
• Trigger Warnings: Gushing, glorious blood (from stab wounds, biting, bullets, self-harm, etc.), violence (physical altercations, off screen lynching with sound affects), sex (clothed intercourse with visible thrusting/rocking), nudity, and profanity (period-accurate colorful language). In short, all the makings of a good time!