When Sammie Moore or Preacher Boy - as he’s known stumbles to the door of the church, covered in blood, looking dishevelled and broken, you don’t know what to expect. As he stumbles through the door, the broken head of his guitar in his hand, his father beckons him to the alter, imploring him to give up the the instrument blaming it for the trouble that has enveloped his life.
We enter the movie close to the end of the story, but it’s told in flashback, so we are taken back to the beginning of the day before, where this dutiful share cropper is out early doors picking cotton in the era of Jim Crow.1.
His cousins, Smoke and Stack, both played by Michael B. Jordan have returned from Chicago wealthy men with all the swagger and confidence to match. Their intention, to set up their own Juke Joint, ‘for us by us’, Sammie is intent on playing there opening night and tells his father in no uncertain terms. ‘I’ll be back in the morning for service, but tonight, I’m playing’.
I was going to give this film a miss to be honest, as I’m not really a fan of horror anymore, with one exception, I’ll watch most anything that features vampires.
Sinners is a mixed genre event though, the drama, thriller aspects mixed with the horror. It’s a period piece that weaves lore, the ancestors the supernatural and a banging soundtrack that propels the story forward. I got echoes of Dusk til Dawn and Crossroads in terms of the themes, but it is so much more than that.
Coogler brings elements of ancient mythology and one particular sequence mixes those elements in an ethereal combination of visual and auditory delight.
An excellent watch, and highly recommended, see it on the biggest screen you can and enjoy the ride!
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