Sinners is a great movie, but it’s not a great horror movie. 

Firstly, Ryan Coogler did an impressive job of bringing 1932 small-town Mississippi to life, while showcasing the rich culture of Black communities that permeates throughout so much of America’s south. His direction was practically flawless throughout the 137-minute runtime, with some genuinely awe-inspiring cinematography. Seriously, there’s one shot, in particular, that takes place in the sawmill that deserves some accolades on its own. 

Everything from the production design to Coogler’s direction to the impeccable soundtrack by Ludwig Göransson feels substantial. I’m fortunate to have a fairly decent AV setup here at home, so it’s not often that I feel I’m missing out by not watching a movie in the theatres; this was one of the exceptions, however, as this film almost demands a larger screen experience. 

A point of praise must also be given to the performances. For as much as I’ve loved watching Michael B. Jordan on the big screen in the past, I’ve never considered him to be an actor with much range or depth. His dual performance here, however, playing the criminal twin brothers Smoke and Stack, impressed me. The man always had a charisma that was incredibly captivating to watch, but he went a notch above with his work here in Sinners. I still don’t think he formed these two characters distinctly enough, but every time he was on screen as either of them, he had my attention in full. And that is the definition of a movie star. The supporting cast, from Wunmi Musaku and Hailee Steinfeld, to Miles Caton and Li Jun Li, all did great, too, bringing in layered performances that played off of one another very well. That boy Miles Caton has some pipes on ‘em, too!

Now, with all the praise out of the way, let’s get into the one element that Sinners falters on. When searching for the movie, Google shows it under “horror,” which is a misnomer, in my opinion. Sinners is a dramatic movie. Sinners is an action movie. Sinners is not a horror movie. It has vampires, sure, but so does Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Frankly, the entire third act of the film lacks the tension and sense of fear that I was expecting. For as wonderfully Coogler contrasts Southern Gothic Black American folklore and Christianity, using them as metaphors for the historical exploitations of Black communities, the final half hour of the film falters to expound on that folklore in a deeper way that connects with the story, while also lacking some much-needed moments of tension.

Everything seemed to unravel at an unnecessarily quick pace by the end, whereas the film could have used an extra ten or twenty minutes to build more of those horror elements. It’s one of the few times where I felt a movie could have benefited from being longer and having more character-specific moments that heightened that sense of fear. 

Still, Sinners is a breath of fresh air for Hollywood’s blockbuster space, which has been riddled with mostly superhero slop for more than a decade. Here’s hoping Coogler and Jordan continue their partnership to bring us more movies like these, all the while continuing to sign contracts that make Hollywood executives mad.