Sinners (Ryan Coogler, 2025): United States
Reviewed by Paloma Paz at SBIFF.
Sinners directed by Ryan Coogler was very unique because of its mixing of supernatural and the racist south and it caught me off guard. I definitely didn’t think the premise of the film would be executed the way it was. For me it was unique because I felt it mixed many different types of genres of film. I saw aspects from 80’s slasher films in some of the scenes, other scenes had western aspects and southern soul type aesthetics and then of course there were vampires involved. I think the film was like a melting pot for genres. Any film that mixes sharecropping with vampirism is definitely going to be interesting.
The film follows Sammy who is the son of a preacher, people in town call him preacher boy (played by Miles Caton). Sammy has two cousins who are identical twins, named Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael b Jordan). The twins are infamous in town for mischief and hustling. The two twins have returned home after traveling and bought some property, they’ve decided they want to turn it into a place to throw parties and play music, specifically for the community they know, a place they could all be welcome at. The film from then on shows the process they go through to recruit security for the joint, to get cooks, alcohol and do everything they need to prepare. Something sinister ends up going on later in the night of opening night, and we see how it affects the twins and Sammy.
Sinners explores themes of Racism, Morality, Identity and Humanity. We see the characters struggle between morality even when certain characters become vampires, they feel stuck between their personal morals and the path they feel set on because of vampirism. Sammy grapples with his relation to music and soul music in particular. Caton beautifully portrays this feeling of guilt for wanting to play his music but feeling torn between his connection to music and his religious side of himself. Identity is also explored through the soul music that Sammy plays. One important scene is set at the joint when Sammy begins to play guitar and sing, and it channels his ancestors and past generations, as well as future generations, exploring the idea that music can connect people of different races, lifestyles, genders and even people from different times. The music in this film was a huge part of why it was so impactful to me, i think music is a form of language that is universal, and that’s partly what the film gets at. Especially in one scene where Sammy begins to play his music with all the people dancing in the joint. Regardless of the issues the film focuses on, the music makes these themes even more understandable. When I heard the soul music in the film, it completely struck me, and made me very emotional.
I felt this film took inspiration from so many different genres and films, like 70s and 80s slasher films like Halloween or others, because in Sinners the scenes with stabbing and blood show super artificial blood like squirting it out, but that was intentional. Also films like Django, which also focus on the subject of slavery and give power to a black character. Similar to Sinners where black men were the main characters and the protagonists in a racist southern setting.
Overall I loved this film, I think it was greatly executed and uniquely executed as well. It speaks on so many levels about the impact of slavery and racism, and the idea of love and identity in relation to that. The cinematography was beautiful, the music and soundtrack I think are some of the best I’ve ever seen in a film, and should totally win an award for that. Sometimes the script was a little off, or felt a little too unrealistic for the characters to be saying it. But in conclusion I really enjoyed this film.
About this entry
You’re currently reading “Sinners (Ryan Coogler, 2025): United States,” an entry on Student Film Reviews
- Published:
- 02.24.26 / 11am
- Category:
- Films, Santa Barbara Film Festival 2026
25 Comments
Jump to comment form | comments rss [?]