Nic’s Flix: Sinners Is the First Great Horror Film of 2025
- kayleighgreig
- Sep 14
- 5 min read
After a slow start to the year for movies, Nic Chang has finally discovered the masterpiece of 2025 (thus far): Sinners.
Warning: This article contains some spoilers for Sinners.
There’s one sequence that’s stuck in my mind since I first saw Sinners. It’s not one of its suspenseful set pieces that is lit under controlled shadows or lingering with malicious forces in the background, nor is it the inevitably climactic, carnage-filled bloodshed that spills with pain, agony and loss. It’s the scene where Sammie (Miles Caton) performs for the crowd. As the infectious energy of his blues music spreads throughout the grand opening of Club Duke, it transcends the dimensions of time, and musicians of past, present and future generations, musicians of hip-hop, reggae, jazz, rock and soul, inexplicably appear, but not a single instrument sounds disharmonious. All of this unfolds in a hypnotic oner that’s always observant of its characters and their cultural images, before it gazes up at — and imagines - the burning hole in the roof and the vast beauty of the night. When the camera tilts down, the club is burning up, yet these characters remain in their positions, dancing to the music that spreads through the open world. Cultures are fused together and a community is formed, brought together by their artistry and shared sense of joy, all whilst its colonising forces of evil, disguised in human form, watch in the very distance.
Witnessing this sequence on the big screen is stunning, but to experience it in IMAX, where its 2.76:1 aspect ratio expands to full frame, is breathtaking. It’s not just pure movie magic; it’s the very soul of Sinners. On paper, it might sound like a heavy-handed idea, but Ryan Coogler constructs such vivid, compelling imagery, directing with imagination and justified anger, that the message becomes powerful and necessary. Art doesn’t just entertain. It expresses identity, unites communities, and gives life meaning. In a time of gentrification, political unrest and generative AI, artistic expression is more crucial than ever. It’s part of what makes Sinners a marvel to behold, a story where the very horrors of the past remain tragically relevant, but one that shows how cultural expression is critical in resisting assimilation.
Set in 1932 Mississippi, identical twins and World War I veterans Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan) return to their hometown after years of living in Chicago. Disillusioned by their time there, they use their gangster connections to purchase a rundown sawmill and transform it into a juke joint for the local Black community. As their day progresses, Smoke and Stack reconnect with figures from their past: the former reuniting with his wife, Annie (Wunmi Mosaku), as they continue to grieve a personal loss; and the latter reconnecting with Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), his biracial ex-girlfriend, whose relationship fell apart due to interracial and social tensions. When the juke joint, named Club Duke, opens, all seems according to plan, providing catharsis, but a greater threat lurks nearby, and what begins as a night of Black joy becomes a harrowing fight for survival.
It’s a genuine miracle that a film like Sinners exists in today’s cinematic landscape. With Coogler outside the confines of the Marvel machine, he has crafted something so bold, original and creatively uncompromised. Sinners is not an easy film to define, as it refuses to conform to tropes and is instead in conversation with the politics and histories of its multi-genre elements. Simultaneously, it is a character-driven drama, a Southern period gangster flick, a social allegory, and a vampire horror blockbuster. It sounds messy, and to an extent, it is, but in a way that feels personal and incredibly rich in substance.
Before Sinners makes the drastic shift to horror, its first hour is far more focused on its characters, defining them not by their traumas but by exploring their interiority. It’s a slow burn that demands your patience and rewards it. By then, we know them not as potentially disposable bodies doomed to their fates but as three-dimensional characters. It doesn’t skimp on the crowd-pleasing, action-packed blockbuster elements that become notable in its finale, with Coogler making the most of his studio resources, but the outcome feels far more devastating as a result.
With Sinners dedicated to its characters, its excellent ensemble cast shines further. With Michael B. Jordan’s dual performance being on two different sides of the coin, he characterises Smoke and Stack with such distinct complexities that the central emotional dynamic takes a harrowing turn as the horror elements escalate. Hailee Steinfeld, Li Jun Li, Delroy Lindo and Wunmi Mosaku are among those delivering great work here, with Jack O’Connell standing out by how menacingly charismatic his role is, but the true breakout star is Miles Caton, whose performance embodies youthful innocence. He had a challenge delivering that one sequence and he nailed it effortlessly with such grace and soul.
What’s stunning about Sinners is how immaculate production values are, and how monumental its blockbuster scale feels. Hannah Beachler’s production design and Autumn Durald Arkapaw’s stunning 65mm photography work together to bring 1930s Mississippi to life, drawing attention not just to its period-accurate set designs but the subtextual social and racial attitudes looming within, and how the costumes represent characters’ cultural identities. It’s a visually arresting experience, rich with meaning and symbolism, but one that especially utilises Ludwig Göransson’s score to craft its identity. With Göransson combining blues, jazz, and a variety of musical genres, his score brings together history, culture and folklore to create such mesmerising, textured tracks, each of them pulsating with anguish, horror and pure emotion, before searing itself into your mind. His track, “Magic What We Do (Surreal Montage)”, is particularly innovative in how it effortlessly fuses genres to demonstrate the evolution of Black music, making it sound modern and old-fashioned, but most importantly, it’s a purely euphoric showcase of cultural expression, a true look into Sinners’ soul.
Sinners isn’t just the horror film we’ve been waiting for, but an unforgettable experience. Coogler’s vision rips genre tropes apart, makes bold narrative swings, and then screams in agony and grief. It mourns for those who lost their creative identities, for those who succumbed to the horrors of racism and gentrification, and then finally for all those brothers and sisters who have been slaughtered needlessly. It’s a furious film that looks into the horrors of its past and refuses to let us look away, but it’s a film that pleads for a better future and a call for action. Don’t let those voices be taken away and lost in time. Let your voice come through and be free once more. An instant classic in the making.
Rating: ★★★★★
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