Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
Ryan Coogler knows a thing or two about having a movie hit big. For the director behind Black Panther and Creed, however, his new vampire movie Sinners that’s currently dominating the box offices is a personal affair. Unlike the films with which he established himself as one of Hollywood’s boldest voices, Sinners isn’t beholden to pre-existing IP and audience expectations. And that freedom is evident across every blood-soaked frame of the hugely entertaining movie.
Michael B. Jordan plays both Smoke and Stack, a pair of highly-feared twins returning to 1930s Mississippi after a period working for Al Capone in Chicago. They plan to open a juke joint and begin recruiting blues musicians to perform at their venue. The launch starts off well, leading to a stand-out scene in which a live blues performance conjures Black musicians past and present in a time-bending montage. The party is soon spoiled when Remmick, a vampire from Ireland, knocks at the door, with bloodlust in his eyes.
Sinners wraps its arms around big ideas like Jim Crow-era racism, the impact of losing a child, and white culture being built on the backs of Black artistry. It’s also about the way music can connect us to our pasts and the spiritual experience of hearing a song that truly evokes the essence of a loved one. While Sinners could have only come from Coogler (he has spoken about being inspired by his relationship with his uncle from Mississippi who passed away while he was working on Creed), it’s also a movie working off the blueprint of many greats that have come before. After the movie opened he published an open letter shouting out over 40 cinematic influences, including Brian De Palma and Quentin Tarantino. In that spirit, The FADER rounded-up six more movies that share some blood with Sinners.
Blade
While the canon of Black vampire movies includes everything from Ganja & Hess to Aaliyah in Queen of the Damned, 1998’s Blade is undeniably the G.O.A.T. Wesley Snipes plays a vampire hunter who slays his prey with swords and martial arts skills, brutally eliminating them in a movie that turns blood-soaked scenery into an art form. Early comic book movies had a reputation for their poor quality but Blade has always been beloved by fans and critics alike. Over 25 years later it’s easy to see why this stylish blend of horror and action remains an essential part of the supernatural landscape.
Blade is available to rent or purchase on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, and Prime Video.
Dead Ringers
Michael B. Jordan gets to flex his acting skills in Sinners with his characters Smoke and Stack presented as distinct from one another: one charismatic and gregarious, the other quieter and more guarded. Jeremy Irons pulled off a similar move in David Cronenberg’s Dead Ringers. The 1988 movie is based on the real life story of twin gynecologists Stewart and Cyril Marcus whose bodies were discovered in their New York apartment in 1975, having died from barbiturate withdrawal. Originally titled Twins, Dead Ringers explores the bond between the siblings as one descends into addiction and the other attempts to help him. While not a horror in the classic sense, Dead Ringers remains a truly creepy tale brought to life by Irons’ portrayal of two distinctly troubled individuals.
Dead Ringers is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
Green Room
The final scene of Sinners, a prolonged shootout between Smoke and an army of Mississippi Klan members is shot like an epic war movie. If watching racists meeting a grizzly end is your thing (and why wouldn’t it be?) try Green Room. This 2016 A24 movie follows a punk band who have to escape a small club when they are attacked by neo-Nazi skinheads. It’s a super violent and claustrophobic movie that will have you cheering on the band like your favorite sports team.
Green Room is available to rent or purchase on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, and Amazon Prime Video.
Idlewild
Idlewild is something of a curiosity. Essentially the last thing OutKast did together (bar their 2014 live tour), the movie stars Andre 3000 as pianist Percival and Big Boi as Rooster, his flamboyant manager. Together they fight to keep their Prohibition-era speakeasy alive amid threats from a violent gang who want to take control of it. Once seen as something of a vanity project, the success of Sinners suggests Idlewild might be deserving of a re-evaluation.
Hollywood Shuffle
While Coogler hasn’t said so in as many words, a clear theme of Sinners is the role of Black filmmakers in Hollywood. At once both heralded and maligned, Coogler would be within his rights to be wary of the executives who work above him. It is notable that the racist landowner from whom Smoke and Stack buy the old barn is named “Hogwood.” The fact that Coogler negotiated a deal that will grant him ownership of the movie after 25 years, practically unheard of among even the most established directors, is even more so.
Back in 1987, director and actor Robert Johnson made Hollywood Shuffle, a hilarious racial satire that highlights the ways in which Black filmmakers are compromised in ways their white peers never encounter. Johnson wrote the movie after becoming frustrated at the glass ceiling he encountered when it came to bagging lead roles. His experience of fruitless casting calls and clueless industry figures are portrayed with a biting wit in this sharp comedy. Tonally it has little in common with Sinners. But as a defiant middle finger to a system that can neuter and sideline whole sections of society, it becomes more relevant with each passing year.
Hollywood Shuffle is available to stream on Tubi, Pluto TV, and Amazon Prime Video.
ReMastered: Devil at the Crossroads
This 2019 Netflix documentary is an essential follow-up to anyone high on the Sinners experience. It tells the story of Robert Johnson, the blues artist who, myth would have it, made a deal with the Devil at a crossroads in rural Mississippi to achieve musical success. Sinners makes explicit the ways in which Black musicians have been relegated to the fringes of society, and Devil At The Crossroads looks to fill in the gaps while also exploring some of the more gothic elements of 1930s entertainment.
ReMastered: Devil at the Crossroads is available to stream on Netflix.
