Sinners

"Sammy!"

That first jumpscare, that first boom in the theatre threw me back like few films have done and forced me to realise that I needed to lock in on what was happening before my eyes. To experience Sinners, Ryan Coogler's latest box office smash.

Coming to Sinners rather late gave me a bit of an altered perspective than someone viewing the film opening weekend. I was aware of the great deal of hype associated with this film, and worried it might suffocate it. Come on, how good could a vampire movie really be? Michael B. Jordan doing the whole Tom Hardy in Legends performance sounded fun, but I'm always sceptical whenever too much hype is shoved at me via social media and word of mouth.

With Sinners, though, the hype is well and truly warranted. Ryan Coogler's horror set in Jim Crow-era Mississippi, centred around a group of people trying to enjoy the opening night of a new venue when vampires do all they can to spoil the festivities, is dripping in flavour, originality, and excitement from the first frames. The film exudes a sense of care and creativity in every moment, every choice, inviting you to think about it just as much as Coogler has clearly given it thought. It isn't afraid to let things sit, to let you luxuriate in the time period and setting Coogler has brought to life.

After an introduction reminding you that yes, vampires will come at some point, we're treated to a good deal of scene-setting. We're introduced to Sammy, a preacher's son who has dreams of becoming a blues musician. We also get to meet the Smokestack Twins, Michael B. Jordan's characters in the film. The twins feel so established it's difficult to believe they've not had a film made about them already. You can't really say you've not seen their like before. Smoke, the older brother, is quieter, rougher, than his charming brother Stack, but the way Jordan seems to effortlessly switch between the two forced me to remind myself it's just one actor playing the both of them. Jordan also did a fantastic job making them feel like brothers, who had lived many lives before the events of the movie, joined at the hip throughout them all. There's a sense of genuine love there, which can be hard to create considering you often need to keep the twins apart to avoid spending money on effects.

The rest of the performances in Sinners are just as immaculate. Miles Caton is a star in the making, and easily holds himself with heavyweight actors just as effortlessly as Dominic Sessa did in The Holdovers. Hailee Steinfeld is very good as Stack's jilted lover, but perhaps I would have liked to have seen more of her in the early stages of the film. Wunmi Mosaku is a brilliant, grounded presence in the film who is knowledgeable enough about vampires to ensure we're not screaming at the screen telling our heroes to use garlic and silver. Delroy Lindo is a scene-stealer as Delta Slim, but the real star outside of Jordan is Jack O'Connell as Remmick, the head honcho of the vampire threat and a man who can be as equally menacing as he is endearing at certain points.

Perhaps the first half of the film, before Remmick decides to ruin everyone's night, is the best half, and we could have had more of it, but O'Connell is simply so good in this role the movie would feel somewhat empty without him. However, as Sinners continues, and we get into the thick of the action, it becomes clear perhaps Coogler has bitten off more than he can chew. The twins are given a gangster backstory, having stolen from both the Irish and Italian mafia, leading to them being in hot water before supernatural beings show up to try and drain their blood. The KKK have a presence, too, adding yet another enemy faction to the mix. Also, there's both of their relationships with their respective love interests, alongside the constant undertone of the serious inequality rife in America throughout this period. Most of the time, the film juggles all this well, but there is a distinct feeling that Coogler had the idea for two, perhaps three films here, and meshed them into one.

In its action, Sinners is mostly solid, except for one scene where our heroes stand off against the vampire menace, in which only really Jordan seems to be moving. Everyone else stands still, getting the occasional close up as they fire off a rifle, wounding a vampire so Jordan can go and finish it off. There's a great scene right at the end of the film which largely makes up for it, but a few of the action set pieces felt a little flat.

Sinners is an excellently paced, excellently acted, and excellently shot movie. It juggles a lot, and doesn't always manage to keep its many plates spinning despite introducing new ones, but the core of the film is so fantastic it was difficult to walk out of the theatre with anything but a smile on my face and the film's songs in my head. A brilliant cinematic experience and a reminder that Coogler is one of the most exciting names in modern Hollywood.