Sinners (2025)

I just got home from seeing Sinners (2025). I remember seeing the trailer before I watched Companion (2025) and I found myself intrigued by it, to put it briefly. I'm not the biggest fan of horror movies or thrillers, scary movies, whatever you want to classify them as. Which, I know, feels contradictory considering I just said I went to see Companion (2025). But, I feel like I lean more towards scary movies that force me to think and feel, rather than rely on jumpscares.

Thinking About Sinners

Whenever I see trailers, I don't really spend much time thinking about them. It's usually a split second decision - I'm going to see this movie or I'm not. That's that. But Sinners was different. I kept thinking about it. Not all the time, it didn't plague my mind or anything. But still… I thought about it more than once. And if there's anything about me, if I think about something more than once, it's obviously something relevant. Usually, though, those thoughts are all anxiety related. I digress.

The trailer I saw before Companion didn't give me a ton to work off of, and if I'm honest, I didn't really do much "research" about it after the fact. I just knew it was a scary movie with Michael B. Jordan. Honestly, I didn't even put two and two together that it wasn't a modern piece. More on that later. Maybe it was the music element (I do love me a good musical, though I knew this was not a musical) that drew me in. But I just couldn't stop thinking about it.

Going In Blind

One of my least favorite parts of my anxiety disorder is that I have to know everything about everything going on at all times… in the sense of movies, shows, etc. I often spoil things for myself, which can and does take a lot of the fun out of things, but at least puts my mind at ease in terms of not having to face too many twists and turns without knowing. But yet again, Sinners was different. Perhaps it was out of sheer laziness that I didn't look into it on social media or read up about it, but the fact is, I didn't know a damn thing about it.

I did look at a few Letterboxd reviews last night, because I kept seeing a lot of people post the bar graph of reviews. And, of course, I had to see what people who were on the lower end of the spectrum were saying about it, especially since it seemed the majority of people who saw it rated it 4 stars or higher. Most movies I see fall in the 2-3 star range. Is that because I like shitty movies or is that because movies are just shitty?

To… maybe a bit of my surprise, but also not really, a lot of the low reviews were… well… they were what I expected them to be. None of them pertained to me, though. A lot of the complaints were about the film's similarity to Marvel movies or lack thereof. I don't really know, I've never seen a Marvel movie all the way through… superhero movies are really not my thing. Something else I saw, though, was a lot of people saying that it was anti-white and/or anti-christian.

Race, Religion and Discomfort during Sinners

I think one of the really important things to acknowledge about Sinners, in my mind, is that it's SUPPOSED to make you uncomfortable. I know I was at times. Though, I think a lot of that was because it forced me to challenge my own biases and perspectives. I'm biracial, but to any passing eye, I'm as white as they come. But do I think Sinners is anti-white? No. Not in the slightest. Maybe I'm the friend that's too woke, but honestly, God forbid a film show white people as villains once in a blue moon. And even then, given that this was a period piece of sorts, is it really anti-white if it's just the truth of what was going on at the time? I mean… from what I saw, I didn't see anything that painted white people as anything other than historically accurate…

I think the discomfort element comes from being forced to see racism in non-traditional ways. One thing I kept thinking about and mentally keeping note of was the fact that, while I've always been aware of the deep south and the roots, all of those stories have been told to me from a white perspective, or a white perspective masqueraded as neutral. I think things like this can't be neutral. I wouldn't go so far as to call this a historical fiction, but it's definitely not a movie to watch if you want to feel comfortable the entire time. Still, I think we need that in our lives. Another thing I remember feeling uncomfy with was the use of slurs. What I mean by that, though, is not black people using the n-word. That's not for me to police. No, it was the white people using slurs against natives and black people. Which is why I said I think it's supposed to make you uncomfortable. If it didn't, that in itself speaks volumes.

Religion wise… yeah, the movie is called Sinners, and by God, sinning does happen. The brief sexual encounters were the perfect length, not overly pornographic, and helped to build the intimacy and the stakes. But if we're going based on predominantly white Christianity and adjacent faiths… this movie wasn't religious. Yes, there was an introduction to the pastor and thus, the preacher boy. But Sammie didn't go around pushing religion. Hell, I think the only time it's mentioned is to give context about why he's called the preacher boy. So to see people calling this anti-Christian feels a little… like what did you think you would be seeing in a movie called Sinners? I dunno.

Period? Period.

When I got home and went to look up the cast (I forgot Omar Miller's name, I've known him as Walter Simmons my entire life), I found it interesting that it described this movie as a period piece. I mean, it makes sense, I suppose. This is hardly a modern-day film. I just… can't help but feel like it wasn't period piecey enough, especially towards the end. I don't know enough about guns and weaponry and their respective eras, but, I dunno. Seeing Michael B. Jordan whip out a gun on a stand and army crawl to kill some guys felt… not very 1930s deep south. Then again, what do I know!

What I do know is that the scene in the middle that blended eras was something that, as far as I can remember, I've never seen any movie do. It was a bold choice, but it paid off. If I could recommend any part of this movie to anyone, it would be that scene alone. It was beautiful, powerful, moving, all the cliche words and more, but well deserving of them. I feel like there's a lot I can say about the music scene in the middle, but I also feel like saying anything about it doesn't really do it justice. It's just… stunning. It's cinematically beautiful, it tells a story in itself, the music was overwhelming in the best way possible, and it brought me to tears. ANd I'm content leaving it at that.

The Cullen Effect of Vampirism in Films, Abridged

The section title is just for shits and giggles, I'm not going to actually write a think piece on vampire cinema. At least, not right now. I could, maybe. I probably won't. But for now, let's talk about what I mean by the Cullen Effect. Now, to call Sinners a vampire romance film is… not correct. There are romance elements, which I will touch on (pun intended) in a sec. But it's not a vampire romance. It's a movie with vampires in it. Still, I think it's an interesting take on vampirism. Maybe I'm too Twilight-pilled, but there were a lot of elements that felt borrowed from twilight. The jumping and the speed and the eye trickery felt very… hm. I don't want to say unoriginal, but then again, it is hard to be original with a concept that has gone through so many iterations and versions. The garlic, silver bullet, wooden stake tropes didn't necessarily feel overplayed or overused, but almost secondary.

If you were to ask me if Sinners was a vampire movie… I mean, yeah, technically. I guess so. That's part of the plot. But if I can be so bold to say, I think… it wasn't really needed. It added an extra element to the story that, while not ruining anything, just made it a little more complicated than it needed to be. Going back to some of the racial elements, I felt like there was a lot that was briefly mentioned but never used again, and that those things would have made for a much more satisfactory experience, for me at least. The split minute of introducing natives only for them to never be seen again and not even be really crucial to the plot felt disappointing. I'm obviously not a film-maker, so who am I to say anything, but I think it would have been nice to see the people of color work together as opposed to it being black vs white but make it vampires. The story obviously alluded to the natives knowing about vampires, enough that they went to warn whatever her name was and give insight that vampires can't enter without being invited in. That could have been used as so much more than just a reminder to the audience, in my opinion.

The Ending

Before I say this, let it be known that, despite how contradictory it may seem and how critical I appear of the movie, I did really like it! I gave it 4.5 stars on Letterboxd, and I can see myself watching it a few more times, both on my own and with friends. But, seriously… what the fuck was that ending?

To me, it felt like the entire budget for special effects was used up in that last five minutes, but it came out of nowhere. There was no mention of the vampires being able to shapeshift or their physical attributes being freaky. So when I looked up from sipping my cherry coke to see Mr. Rocky Road To Dublin with salad fingers, I was confused. It felt so rushed. I would have much rather sat through another 45 minutes to an hour to have let the fight play out or learn more about the vampires and their motives (though, I can't see myself ever having rooted for them in this movie). The beginning of the movie was great! It introduced the story and the characters so well, it set the tone and was really immersive. And then… boom bam fight fight death death blood stab sunrise shootout the end. I left the theatre feeling incomplete. I also felt like we lost a lot of characters that had been set up to succeed, or at the very least, tell their own stories. I want more.

If this entry feels a little scrambled and all over the place, blame that on two things. Firstly, my ADHD. But secondly… the movie itself was a little scrambled itself. Like I said, the first hour was incredible. I'd honestly even go so far as to say that I think it would have been a fine ending to just… leave it at the end of the night at Club Juke, have a happy ending. I know that's not how life works… but that's not a call on wanting happy endings for everyone, but rather, knowing when to stop while you're ahead. The introduction of the vampires felt… a little out of left field (literally, like where did that man even come from?). Regular old white people would have been conflict enough, I think. I dunno. I have a lot of gripes about the movie, but it's far easier to remember all the things I nitpick about the movie rather than the praises I sung. Also, you don't need me to sell you the movie. I think it does a fine job of that on it's own.

Overall, despite my critiques, Sinners (2025) is not a movie I regret watching, at all. There are a lot of things it tries to be, but there are far more things that it is. And perhaps the most important thing it is, is good. Plain and simple.