Sinners

It might be, no, definitely the best horror film of the year.

So overwhelming, so crazy. The historical background is just fragmented, pieced together in bits and pieces, but while watching this film, there’s a deep, sorrowful, painful feeling that settles in. It's like you understand what it's trying to say.

In most horror films, the monsters are terrifying and chilling, but there are several moments in this one when you even begin to think the monsters have a point? You can’t help but be confused, tempted to accept their view. The dead aren’t truly gone—they’re from the past. The beings outside the door aren’t terrifying, ominous monsters, but rather loved ones, close friends, the most important people in your life.

You want to cross over and join them. Become a part of an intimate family bond, with a connection that lets you understand each other’s memories deeply (in reality, it's the manipulative creator taking their lives and stories, using ghosts to deceive others and steal even more).

You have to convince yourself that the emotions being shown are deceit, a lure to get you to give up your life… but is it just deceit?

The core of the film is a bit like The Mountain of Madness . A group of people goes on an expedition to the snow mountains, and one night, while you're alone in a cabin, your lover appears and tells you that the others died in an accident, and later, your teammates appear and say your lover was the one who was possessed… who do you believe? Which side do you choose?

The question is, what if the one standing outside the door is the person you can’t bear to part with? Even knowing they’re a monster, they confess that they will turn you into one too, to live freely together, sharing memories and the night sky. You just have to pay a small price, like giving up your human identity, never walking under the sun again… and they’ve already died, irreversibly becoming a monster. Would you go? Cross the boundary between the ordinary and the extraordinary, and walk toward the monster?

To become a creature abandoned by the sun together.

At first, I thought only the creator’s will was manipulating things. The monsters that were transformed had no thoughts of their own, no "soul," simply the cunning creator who steals memories and imitates the victims’ personalities, deceiving those who were closest to them into trust.

If that were true, there’d be no hesitation, no doubt. You’d want to kill the creator immediately, and bury the desecrated bodies.

But the longer you watch, the more astonished you become. It seems that becoming a monster offers a different way of thinking, something that’s distinct from human thought. But the tone, the habits of the speaker, and even the urgency of their killings take on another meaning. “Hurry, join us. Stay with us as a close family.”

The deceased who were executed by the stake couldn't complete their transformation. So, their cries and howls became filled with true, raw pain. It felt as if they were genuinely sorrowful, devastated, and disrupted by "stupid" loved ones stubbornly clinging to their human identity, ruining the whole beautiful plan.

The witch has firm faith, believing souls will reunite on the other side. The lover faithfully follows her will, but hesitates, wavers, and ultimately lets go of the blood relative he could not harm.

An unbearably tragic night. Some stumble on, surviving as humans. Others, two outcasts, flee together, support each other, and somehow manage to live a relatively decent few decades, fulfilling unachieved desires.

Even vampires love blues. Music that’s enough to summon demons... In the cheerful, jumping melodies and eerie, melancholic songs, even ordinary zombie forms become rhythmic.

That golden, beautiful night, I was still puzzled about how the bar had suddenly been set up. The scenes weren't explained, only to be revealed later when everything had been destroyed in chaos. Those fleeting, interwoven images.

Maybe there were never any vampires. Maybe it was an attack in an unguarded moment of joy. Maybe it was all completely man-made destruction. The only one left alive, a young man, walks out, bathing in the first light of dawn. Decades later, he turns the story into a fantastical, modified tale.

But wouldn’t that be boring? It wouldn't fit such a beautiful night, such a brief, fleeting moment. They were still discussing how to use plantation vouchers to make back their expenses, still seriously studying the accounts and spending for the next two months.

Let's stick to the vampires. Take away all those unforgettable people, the cousins of local legends, the girl he fell in love with at first sight, the musical partner, the familiar and unfamiliar residents of the small town. Take away their living breaths and blood-tinted faces.

Leave behind the guitar gripped tightly in the young man's hands, and the scars on his face. Let him wander, not to waste this life he picked up.

He must preserve his own memories and stories. He must exist as "human."

The film seeks to answer the question: What is a sinner?

Is it someone who commits petty crimes, murders, and arson? Is it someone who fails to meet the expectations of society or the community? Is it someone who doesn't follow moral constraints? Or is it something else? The film, titled The Sinner , doesn't point out who the sinner is. Is it the black-skinned people, who were born into this condition? Is it the white vampires? Is it the 3K white men who profit from the status quo? Or is everyone born with original sin?

That Chinese woman—she dares to love and hate, a moth to the flame, faces the problem head-on, and is the first to stand up against the vampires. A fiery woman willing to go down with the cause, she leaves a deep impression.

The Confused Time

There is a segment in the film that distorts time, intertwining various beliefs from ancient times to the present. Is it exploring original sin , or the transmission of faith, or communication with ancestors?

Colonialism and Immigration

Whether black, Asian, or Irish, they are all immigrants. The local Native Americans, however, are colonized. Whether immigrants or colonizers, transformed by outside forces, betraying the original beliefs and the wishes of their ancestors, are they sinners?

The Evil of Capitalism

There is the desire sparked by capitalism, and people are tempted. Is capitalism the root of all evil , or is it human nature itself?

Dreams vs. Reality

In the end, the "missionary boy" defies reality (his father’s missionary expectations) by not giving up his broken guitar, leaving his hometown to pursue his dreams in the big city, where he forms his own band (named Pearline, after his first love).

The Fleeting Freedom

At the end, the elderly "missionary boy" reflects on the afternoon that changed his life, saying it was the happiest and most free he’s ever felt, and that it’s forever imprinted on his heart. I believe this state of freedom is often when one is "first in love" and "naïve to the ways of the world." Once a person gains "wisdom," they lose the ability to enjoy the pure, untainted joy of innocence.

Who is the Sinner?

So who is the sinner, or what is a sinner? I believe (and the film expresses) that it is someone who has lost the ability to connect with their ancestors , or someone who cannot reunite with them (not going against their wishes). It’s like a vampire, isolated from the circle of ancestors, forever unable to communicate with them. I wonder—can a vampire dream?

People make mistakes, the world changes fast, and from the perspective of the long river of history, whether one believes in Jesus or in primitive religions; whether one is black, yellow, or white; whether one follows capitalism or an agricultural economy; whether one sings blues, folk, or rock or rap—these cannot be called "sins." They are just changes. The real sin is the loss of humanity itself, the severing of the connection to one's ancestors, the loss of the ability to dream, and the loss of basic goodness, leaving one as a walking dead, trapped in an endless void.

Are there such "sinners" in modern society? This is worth pondering.

man i walked in thinkin sinners gon slap but it ain’t gon do nothin but mumble it way thru two hours of slow-walkin twin-talkin soul-searchin tea-sippin drama i ain’t sayin it’s dumb but it sure as hell ain’t sharp they gon drop heavy themes like slavery n bloodlines but forget to drop the damn horror i came for

first hour gon drag like sunday school without the snacks n both them twins lookin same talkin same actin same i ain’t know who was who n i ain’t care by minute forty i’m tryna hear sumthin scary but it ain’t gon come til real late when they finally remember oh yeah we got vampires n cgi in the budget

even then it ain’t gon bite it just gon pose look pretty act deep but ain’t got no soul no scream no shock n then credits roll n i’m like welp that was a long quiet sigh but then boom post-credit twist pop up like “surprise we had ideas after all” n i’m mad ‘cuz that was the movie they shoulda made

folks online actin like if u ain’t get it u dumb—boy pls i got it n i still ain’t moved y’all just scared to say it mid as hell ’cuz y’all scared to sound uncultured but i ain’t gon lie for clout movie ain’t bold ain’t scary ain’t stayin in my head longer than this sentence

sinners got soul but ain’t got teeth n that’s the whole damn problem

Sinners (2025) — Five Stars.

Directed by Ryan Coogler, born on May 23, 1986.

In 2013, at the age of 27, he released his first film, Fruitvale Station (2013) , which tells a story similar to "I can't breathe" about a Black man's struggle.

A young man from a poor neighborhood involved in drugs ends up in prison. After his release, he tries to turn his life around but is broke. He falls back in with his old drug-dealing friends, but hasn’t yet committed any crimes. On the subway, he encounters a white enemy from his past. A quarrel ensues, and when the police arrive, they beat him and then execute him in public by shooting him in the back. This incident sparks riots, and Coogler turned the story into a film that gained significant attention.

This film helped him attract investment to direct the Marvel Black Panther series.

Black Panther (2018) Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever (2022) And the upcoming Black Panther 3 (2028).

Many people mocked Black Panther , calling it a neutered, insulting tribute to the "Black Panther Party."

True, but not entirely accurate. At least, I don’t think that’s the case anymore.

In 2025, Coogler released the all-Black production Sinners (2025) .

The film's setup is full of metaphors, and interpretations will differ. My guess may not be right, but the details in the film seem to make sense when seen through the lens of Coogler’s personal experiences.

Let me first tell you a few anecdotes from the director’s life:

1. Coogler once went to the bank to withdraw money. He verified his identity and entered the correct password. However, because he is Black and wearing a mask, a Black bank teller reported him as a robbery suspect.

2. When the police arrived, one of the officers, also Black, handcuffed Coogler immediately without question.

3. The driver of Coogler’s car, also Black, was suspected of being an accomplice and was detained as well.

4. Upon seeing the police, Coogler immediately put his hands behind his back and didn’t resist, fully aware that a slight misstep could get him shot. The entire time, he was calm and knew how to handle the situation, out of fear for his life.

Understanding these anecdotes, and considering Coogler’s first film, when watching Sinners (2025) , the depth of the film becomes very apparent.

My interpretation (not necessarily correct):

The Native Americans were wiped out. The Irish immigrants were transformed into vampires. The colonizers, the Anglo-Saxon 3K white supremacists, used new ethics and capitalist ideology to brainwash Black, Chinese, and other minority groups.

This is the initial setup. As the story progresses, the Irish immigrants first became pawns for the Anglo-Saxons (strikebreakers, politicians, voting tools), and so the vampires found a new ecosystem, serving as a manifestation of capitalist consumerism that engulfs everything yet erases the essence of things.

Once you arrive, you’re an international citizen. There’s no concept of motherland or origin.

The Chinese man falls victim, infected by the vampires. The Chinese woman refuses to be assimilated and, in a desperate attempt to protect her child, awakens her maternal instincts (ethnic identity). She engages in an ultimate, one-for-one exchange with her mutated husband.

The Black man refuses to give up his humanity. He won’t embrace the vampire’s promise of freedom like his younger brother did.

So, at night, he repels the vampires. During the day, he strikes back at the white supremacists. He sends his wife—who symbolizes the original Black civilization rooted in Voodoo—on her final journey. He dies heroically, like a true Black Panther.

Not the tame, neutered Black Panther that Marvel has presented. Not the clownish version that Coogler himself made. But the true Black Panther who fought with allies against whites and was systematically assassinated.

A hero must die, especially in America, because America only allows the “American hero” to survive.

Coogler uses the mouth of the capitalist vampire to satirize new moralities, denying the existence of "elders" or the original Black culture. But then he himself uses the "original sin" shell to tell the story of the sinner.

In this story, all people have original sin. This sin can only be redeemed by resistance. But openly, there is racial slaughter by the 3K, and secretly, cultural vampires brainwash. The resistors must die, and the innocent are already gone.

At the end of the story , two sinners survive:

By day, the old Black man, representing true Black music, sacrifices himself for the neutered, reformed version of Black culture that now serves white entertainment. By night, the younger Black man becomes a consumerism-pampered rap dog, embracing a mixed-race girl, flaunting his golden grills, and living the eternal life of an artistic jester.

Is this happiness? Is this freedom? One is a eunuch, and the other is a prostitute.

In their final moments, the Black Cain says: “That was the last time I saw my (Black Panther Party) brother. It was the last time I saw the (Black) sunrise.”

Before I was assimilated by the vampires, those last few hours, we had freedom.

Sinners have sinned, but they are still alive—just to survive. Is that a sin?

To have had the chance to make Sinners (2025) and portray the true Black Panther, Coogler had to first flatter the Hollywood white culture and make a few clownish "Black Panthers" for the commercial market. Is that a sinner? Does that have original sin?

Some critics jokingly said, Chen Sicheng, come remake it. There’s some truth in that—an African-American version of Chen Sicheng. First, build the Detective Chinatown IP, make 100 billion in commercial box office, and then turn it into Detective Chinatown 1900 , saving China’s views on the world.

Sinners (2025) captures the madness of the "vampire" allure. The true temptation isn't immortality or beauty, but the promise of freedom . Though it’s not freedom to be yourself, but the freedom granted by being assimilated by capitalism. At least, it’s the freedom to live .

Sinners (2025) portrays the wild, proud sense of being Black, which transcends skin color and is deeply rooted in the human heart. The works that love one’s own people will move the world.

It’s so good, oh my god! The trailer was already captivating, and the movie is a total visual and auditory feast. The OST is definitely Oscar-worthy.

A Southern blockbuster with a soul music battle – a classic vampire setup, a subject that’s rarely tackled recently, yet with an innovative integration of Black culture and a musical twist.

There are many underlying metaphors: Black soul music summons demons, Native Americans as the guardians, Asians as allies, and vampires led by white people. The minority group’s microcosm of heaven created in the bar is easily destroyed by the white demonic vampires, leading to a counterattack.

Sami’s final act of abandoning faith to uphold his soul is also a form of freedom.

The long dance sequence spanning five thousand years had me in tears.

The demons’ pursuit of soul music is essentially the quest of soulless beings for a soul... Immortal beings are more fragile and spiritually empty than any living creature. Even though they might have potential for infinite knowledge, they still can’t create music that touches the soul. I want to say one more thing about the "Black attitude": You can enslave our bodies, but you will never take our souls.

Besides the blues, the harpsichord that appears with the vampires is very retro and typical. The battle scenes are also rock-oriented, and I immediately went back to collect the soundtrack.

Michael B. Jordan’s performance is explosive, so hot... Hailee Steinfeld is beautiful too. The eternal lovers have a bit of that "only love each other for eternity" vibe.

(2025-04-28) Saw it again in 70mm IMAX, still absolutely love it... Applauded three times when it was crowded. I can’t help but marvel at the editing and sound design – truly masterful. Three parts I especially loved:

The harmonica uncle telling the prisoner’s story in the car, without any visuals, only relying on background sound to tell the story. Sami’s performance in that long shot – I cry every time I watch it. People who don’t like it say it's chaotic, but I totally think it’s true art. The transition from Mars to the starry sky was just too beautiful. Also, I feel like the white people’s songs are also really good, just in a completely different style, maybe Scottish? Sami’s girlfriend (sorry, didn’t catch her name) performing that tap dance and percussion sequence – that montage cut straight out of a trailer with such a strong impact. Also, Black humor really is in their blood. All the jokes were genuinely funny. The IMAX experience made everything even more immersive, and all the jump scares hit just right.

Still listened to the ending song as I left. This time, I clearly heard the lyrics: "If I could set my people free... set my people free...