‘Sinners’ First Reactions Praise Ryan Coogler’s Bold Vision as ‘Gory, Horny, Relevant’

"Sinners" doesn't open until April 18, but first reactions praise Coogler's wildly ambitious vampire take on the Jim Crow South — with Michael B. Jordan as twin brothers.

“Sinners” is about to take a bite out of the spring film calendar in 2025.

Ryan Coogler’s ambitious big swing “Sinners” marks the “Black Panther” director’s first original project, out from under the weight of I.P., since his 2013 Sundance sensation “Fruitvale Station” put him on the map. The 38-year-old mega talent has had an impressive run directing both “Black Panther” movies along with the Rocky spinoff “Creed” (2015), while also producing that film’s two sequels — all major box office coups. But he wrote the Warner Bros. supernatural horror epic “Sinners,” out April 18, from his own idea, and first reactions are already praising a vision that welds classic vampire mythology to the metastasizing racism underlying the mid-century American South.

“Black Panther” and “Creed” star Michael B. Jordan plays dual roles as twin brothers Smoke and Stack, each representing their own side of a coin of good and corrupt. They’re also World War I veterans who return in the 1930s to their Jim Crow-era Mississippi hometown after working for Al Capone in Chicago, where they left behind a gang war in flames.

But after purchasing an abandoned Mississippi mill from a white supremacist to set up a music hall, they’re in for way more than they planned on as supernatural events (which we won’t spoil!) throw a planned evening of revelry and bluegrass into bloody, gory chaos. Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Catone, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Delroy Lindo, Lola Kirke, and Saul Williams also lead the cast.

IndieWire’s Jim Hemphill wrote, “SinnersMovie is a bold blast, easily one of my favorite studio releases of the last 10 years. Can’t wait to see it in 70mm at my favorite first run theater!” — referencing the film’s upcoming run at the Vista Theater in Los Angeles.

Next Best Picture editor-in-chief Matt Neglia wrote, “SINNERS is a one-of-a-kind cinematic experience from the mind of Ryan Coogler. What begins as a deep Southern gangster period piece soon transforms into a harrowing fight for survival and spiritual freedom against a ruthless clan of vampires. And it’s absolutely awesome!!”

The Wrap senior writer Drew Taylor wrote, “Dear lord I loved this movie. Maybe my favorite Ryan Coogler movie — so scary and thoughtful and emotional and bold. Michael B Jordan is genuinely incredible but the standout is newcomer Miles Canton. Ludwig’s score is next level. What an astounding achievement.”

Variety senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay wrote that it’s “one of the best and sexiest vampire joints in ages. Miles Caton blew me away and Michael B. jordan is incredible. Ryan Coogler is insanely talented for giving us this film. Ludwig Goransson’s score is one of his best. Don’t miss this!”

Critic Peter Gray wrote, “#Sinners is exactly the vampire joint you’d expect Ryan Coogler to make. The way he interweaves music to make it its own character is masterful. Michael B. Jordan is superb, Jack O’Connell enjoyably unsettling, Hailee [Steinfeld] a minx in the best way. Gory, horny, relevant.”

Screen Rant’s Liam Crowley wrote, “SINNERS is the best film of the year (so far). Coogler + Michael B. got the sauce to a level you can’t fathom. Every music number had me breathless – especially that oner. Shoutout authentic Irish tunes one time. WB has a hot new, original franchise on its hands.”

It’s worth noting that Coogler — working on a budget of $90 million, staggering these days for an original horror movie — shot “Sinners” with cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw on 65mm film (using both Ultra Panavision 70 and IMAX 65mm). She also shot “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” as well as the Gia Coppola films “The Last Showgirl,” “Mainstream,” and “Palo Alto.” Returning here, too, is Oscar-winning “Black Panther” composer Ludwig Göransson for a score as genre-crossing as the movie itself, one that blends a variety of influences that, at times, encompass the entire history of Black music into a single sequence.

How will “Sinners” play for commercially minded audiences? They will for sure turn up for a horror movie on its head that turns out to be so much more. Warners has had a bumpy recent run with filmmaker-driven visions like “Joker: Folie à Deux” and “Mickey 17” failing to land as hoped, and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav allegedly shopping for replacements for film chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy. “Sinners” is one those filmmaker-forward projects executives embraced and shepherded. On the auteur side, Warners also has Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” coming in the fall.

“Sinners” opens from Warner Bros. April 18.