Cliche

In retrospect, I think I should have been able to tell from the very first scene that “Sinners” would be a mixed bag.

The film begins with a trope, perhaps one of the oldest in storytelling: voiceover exposition. As we’re presented with a series of occasionally frightening images, we’re informed that our world hosts rare individuals who play music so “true” they can transcend, well, pretty much everything. Through this ability, they can summon all kinds of spirits — some good and some bad.

I couldn’t describe my viewing experience better if I tried.

Let’s start with the strong elements. Thanks to the great Ludwig Göransson, “Sinners” has the best score I’ve heard all year. From the Western influences to the way it aligned with certain on-screen actions, Göransson’s music was one of the highlights of the film. At a few select moments, the score elevated scene transitions so well that all I could do was sit slack-jawed and let it wash over me.

Music in general is one of the film’s strongest elements. Any time a character broke out an instrument, I knew the following scene would be likely one of the best in the movie. There was a particular one-take sequence in the middle that I’ll have a hard time not thinking about for the next week.

I also have to commend the costume design. It was wise to dress Smoke in blue and Stack in red, and every time they were on screen, I desperately wanted their suits and hats for myself.

Despite the uneven exposition, I was digging the first half. It wasn’t perfect, but I hoped the buildup to the second half’s carnage would be worth it.

Once again, I was half right.

When the horror elements take over, the film loses a lot of personality. The spiritual, music-driven, western-esque first half felt incredibly original, but as soon as “Sinners” became a bona fide horror fest, tropes started to abound. The film began to feel like something I’d seen a million times before.

Save for select sequences, this remained true throughout the second and third acts. Jumpscares were relied upon as the primary scare tactic, eventually giving way to straight-up action à la James Cameron’s “Aliens.” 

But the film had one more trick up its sleeve.

I’ll admit I didn’t see the final scene coming. I liked what it was going for, but having it largely relegated to a mid-credits scene after half the theater had left was a weird choice. I couldn’t think of a reason why they did it like that.

That confused feeling describes much of my experience with this film. It’s incredible when it does its own thing, but when it relies on played-out genre tropes and muddled creative decisions, it loses me.

Still, “Sinners” is a solid watch. It might be worth going to the theater for the one-take music sequences alone.

Classic

We’re going to be talking about “Sinners” for a long time. Ryan Coogler’s new southern gothic tale of vampires and the blues feels like the sort of blockbuster filmmaking we could use more of right now. 

Like any great crowd-pleasing adventure film, the structure is familiar. In “Sinners,” twin gangsters, amusingly named Smoke and Stack, open a blues hall in the Mississippi Delta circa 1930. 

The story becomes a siege defense when a musically inclined Irish vampire interrupts the party and seeks to invade the brothers’ club. A lot of horror movies are about people in a building trying to keep something scary out of said building, but Coogler’s filmmaking makes this iteration on a tried and true plot device a must-watch. 

Instead of relying on jump scares, though the few present are well-earned, Coogler builds tension by playing with our expectations for a vampire story and a break-in story. There isn’t much physically preventing the vampires from getting inside, only an ancient rule stipulating vampires must be invited in to enter any building. 

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Much of the second half of the film consists of excellent musical sequences, duelling Irish jigs and empassioned blues performances, as the vampires attempt to convince characters on the inside of the club to invite them in. 

All stories contain tropes, hence why they became tropes, but the way Coogler meshes vampire storytelling, horror filmmaking, musical sequences, and movie star performances from Michael B. Jordan and Hailee Steinfeld is unmatched. 

Several sequences made my jaw drop in sheer awe and had me asking, “How did they pull that off?” A one-take musical sequence in the middle of the film was so earth-shatteringly sick I felt like I was floating out of my seat in the theater. 

Beyond being a well-executed genre film, “Sinners” also manages to say something important. Coogler’s filmmaking is bursting with visual ideas, but the movie is thematically rich, too. Coogler’s vampires are cultural colonists, and it’s no mistake that the first three we’re introduced to are white, but his metaphor never detracts from the gruesome horror.

This is what perfect big-budget filmmaking should be to me: movie star-driven crowd-pleasers with invigorating visual style and something to say.

So many films starring equally famous actors with equally large budgets are settling for mindless entertainment right now. Coogler challenges this trend and should be lauded for it.

“Sinners” can be enjoyed as a rollercoaster vampire film or as an interesting character study about the cultural relevance of blues music. Either way, “Sinners” is destined to become a classic, so go see it in a theater.