Blood & Sinners

I love it when movies mix different genres and create a fresh spin on old themes. In this case however the different elements didn't mix well in my opinion: I would describe sinners as a mix between period gangster drama, musical and trashy B-movie horror. This sounds super exciting on paper, but in reality it threw me off completely. I feel like the movie tries to do everything at the same time but doesn't deliver on many of those aspects: It wants to hit the viewer on an emotional level but left me personally completely cold - I didn't care who died or who lived; The movie kinda wants to be scary but the "enemies" in the film feel like a complete joke from the first scene they are shown and it takes away all the tension; It wants to be action-packed and explosive, but the fight scenes are kinda boring and left me wanting to move on to more serious scenes again, even though those serious scenes are kind of a slow burn; The film wants to be funny and even though it made me chuckle a bit it never really took it far enough to justify sacrificing the big threat in the film for laughs.

In conclusion: This movie is too boring and slow to be an entertaining action-comedy and doesn't take the humor and fight scenes far enough to really have an impact. At the same time this movie is far too ridiculous to be a serious scary and emotional movie that reaches you on any kind of emotional level.

I would have liked it, if they would have sacrificed the humor for building a serious threat that feels genuinely scary and terrifying. The cinematography, costumes and music are fantastic but this is just not enough for me to make it a good film, when the story is not hitting. There are single parts of the movie that I absolutely loved and I would have really appreciated those scenes as standalone music videos, but it just doesn't mix well with the rest in my personal opinion.

In addition to my previous criticisms I spotted some typical clichés in the dialogue writing that made me roll my eyes and there were some moments where I found it extremely hard to believe that certain characters survived. I could go in to detail here but I want to keep my review vague to avoid spoilers.

To me watching this movie felt a bit like eating chocolate on a burger - Both elements are nice by themselves but together they don't make for a nice meal.

Sinners impresses early with its stunning cinematography and solid performances. The film sets a moody, atmospheric tone and builds tension with a deliberate, slow-burn approach that hints at something truly impactful. Unfortunately, that promise is never fulfilled. When the vampires finally appear, the film takes a sharp downturn. Their behavior is nonsensical, lacking any real menace or intelligence, and they end up feeling more like a parody than a threat. It's a baffling creative choice that undermines everything the first half works so hard to build. Despite its strong technical elements, the film stumbles badly at the finish line. A stylish misfire-watchable, but disappointing. 6 out of 10.

For years I've been emphasizing the importance of music in movies; how an amazing musical score can significantly elevate a movie. It shouldn't just be background dressing. It should be brought to the forefront. It should drive the story. It should be a character in itself. It should give you goosebumps in the big moments. Sinners is one of the best examples of this.

Aside from the music, I could tell I was watching high-quality filmmaking within five minutes. The directing, camerawork, editing, and sound design are pristine. The entire cast does a great job, but Michael B. Jordan shines. He is a superstar.

Sinners is also surprisingly funny, without taking away from the seriousness. And the horror elements are... satisfying. This movie goes hard.

Advice: Certain scenes have an expanded aspect ratio that will only be shown in IMAX. If you can't go to an IMAX, any premium screen will do (Dolby Cinema, UltraScreen, EMX, etc). This movie benefits more than most from the larger screen and louder speakers.

Also, I missed A LOT of the dialogue, you may want to ask for a closed caption device.

(1 viewing, opening night IMAX 4/17/2025)

Don't buy into the hype. Sinners is a slightly above average film that has been blown massively out of proportion. Its current rating of an 8.1/10 is absurdly high. It's not THAT good.

I'll start with the positives. First of all, I thought the acting was absolutely amazing. It was a really fantastic performance from the entire cast. I also thought the music was great; l'm not typically much of a blues guy, but l enjoyed what I heard.

As for the negatives, the biggest problem I had is that the film accomplished nothing. It finished and I was just like.....ok? What am I to make of this? It's categorized as Drama and Supernatural Horror, and while it is technically both of those, I wasn't impressed in either area. Suspense--a major part of both of those genres--was basically nonexistent. The 'normal' part of the plot (the stuff without the supernatural junk) was actually solid. It had a nice little twist in it, which the ending went back on. I just wish there was more of that.

Overall, it wasn't a bad movie, but it's not one I'd recommend. The best way to sum it up is this: it's a dime a dozen horror flick that's made watchable by a really good cast and great cinematography.

Final score of 6/10.

First of all: this is not a horrible movie, but it sure as hell isn't what the ratings make it out to be. It's sort of like From Dusk Till Dawn, but then with a predictable and not so good second half. And, as is the problem with a lot of movies these days: it's about an hour too long.

I really liked the first half. Up until the scene wherein Sammy makes music at the Juke Joint, which seems wildly out of place to me. It wasn't funny, smart and totally unnecessary in my opinion. Everything after that was cliche, full of the standard horror tropes and just not that good in my opinion. The acting is pretty good, the imagery is beautiful, but all in all it really falls short as a horror movie and overstays its welcome by a long shot.