Sinners

Another Oscar winning movie as the Saturday night pick, and this was a good one. As with superhero stories it’s difficult to find a new twist on the vampire genre, but Ryan Coogler manages this on several levels.

The movie is set in 1932 Mississippi and stars Michael B Jordan as a pair of identical twin brothers returning to their home state from a sojourn in Chicago dressed in sharp suits, with a truck load of illicit booze that they have heisted by playing off the Italian and Irish mobs against each other. The first third of the movie sees them reconnecting with old friends, lovers and acquaintances as they put together a crew to run a juke joint for black workers so the can sell the booze at a tidy profit. They first buy an old sawmill from a fat, racist landowner (clearly in the Klan) and in turn recruit their cousin Sammie, a gifted guitarist, and a veteran bluesman called Delta Slim to provide the evening’s entertainment.

The day is spent joyously as the juke joint is spruced up, food prepared and Sammie plays his guitar with joy. As the sun goes down, the scene changes to a remote farmhouse where a badly burnt and beaten white man pleads for sanctuary from a couple of suspicious farmers. He claims to be on the run from a posse of Choctaw hunters but as soon as he is allowed into the house his true vampiric nature is revealed.

Meanwhile the juke joint is now jumping as Sammie’s guitar conjures the spirits of the past and future in an astonishing scene, as the ever-growing crowd of vampires gather outside attracted by the prospect of music and fresh blood. The music is great in this, being a mix of authentic era appropriate blues mixed with a modern score.

The story pretty much follows the established rules of vampire lore - they must be invited into a place, they are repelled by garlic and only a stake to the heart or sunlight will kill them. However what makes this movie stand out is the way that is tackles straight on the institutional racism of the Deep South and the contrast with the world of the vampires. After a satisfyingly bloody final act, there are two codas that lift the movie to the next level, especially a final scene starring the legendary musician Buddy Guy that initially plays like a mid credits bonus scene but is actually a brilliant conclusion to the story, leaving you wanting to know more. I really want to know more about the Choctaw hunters!

Great stuff and a worthy winner.