The Film That Tempts Fate

Sinners is one of the few films that isn’t afraid to pull back the dark curtains that haunt dreams. The 2025 horror thriller was written, directed, and produced by Ryan Coogler, along with Zinzi Coogler and Sev Ohanian. Distributed by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Sinners shows a world where one’s darkest fears are very real. It’s an experience one couldn’t forget. Like how a child out of curiosity would peek through locked fingers and even then scarcely believe it.

I Believe To My Soul, Now, Poor Bob Is Sinkin’ Down

There’s an old myth about a man who once sold his soul to the devil. This tale is familiar to many, and as stories go, it’s a bit strange, but all the same, only one can be blamed. There was a singer and his name was Robert Johnson. Robert was a country blues singer from Hazlehurst, Mississippi. The story goes that one day, at a crossroad, he met someone who promised him mastery, someone who would help him achieve his dreams, someone who would give him everything. Some believe this can be heard in the lyrics of his song “Crossroad.” The words speak about his want to have something worth meaning, something that could be worth feeling. However, everything comes with a cost.

Sinners is set in Clarksdale, Mississippi somewhere along the Delta. In a time not so long ago, African Americans lived very differently. This isn’t about their struggles but rather all that they have managed to achieve. It’s about their strength and their sense of togetherness amid hardship. Their achievements is came during a time called Jim Crow. It’s the year 1932 and things aren’t as they are today. As people are always looking left and right out of the corners of their eyes, they live in fear. They needed a safe place, and the blues, well, it was exactly what they needed. Smoke and Stack are two brothers – twins. They vanished from Clarksdale some time ago, but now, they had something to do. Challenges arose, but if nothing else the Smokestack twins had everything under control. As the film goes on there are highs and lows, like a silver string that flows in the dark. There’s never a dull moment. Even in each circumstance there’s a fire that lights the way. As it seems, sometimes things move about in slow motion, but every moment can be felt. Through time different stories are revealed. These are stories that were on pause. They were never able to run their course because of missing pieces. Perhaps fate brought them together in this moment so that their endings could be revealed.

Blues Fallin’ Down Like Hail

Sinners is different from other films in the way of speed. The flow keeps the audience on their toes. Ryan Coogler (writer, director, and producer) gathered different elements from the past culture of African Americans, but it’s not something that can be easily explained. It’s something that has to be felt. There’s a scene where you see men working, but they’re held in chains – bound together. This is called a chain gang. It has the ability to make the blood drain from the skin while at the same time feeling a sense of unknown guilt. Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo) keeps a heavy weight on himself because of his past. When he sees them, he understands their pain, yet offers encouragement. Sammie (Miles Caton) is a boy with a love for blues. They call him a preacher boy. His father, the pastor Jedidiah Moore (Saul Wiiliams), is a man of withstanding faith crippled by fear. His binary point-of-view leads to an unspoken distance between the two of them.

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It’s because of this distance that he leans on his cousins – the Smokestack twins (Michael B. Jordan). They’re fiercely protective, with a bit of a knack for getting in trouble. Together they’re unforgettable.

Annie (Wunmi Osaku) introduces Sinners; as she speaks, she says, “There are legends of people born with the gift of making music so true it can pierce the veil between life and death…” Her words speak of a warning of things to come. If a person takes this path, they must beware of the shadows that linger, the monsters that lurk in the dark, and the ones with red eyes. Her specialty lies in the protection of those she loves. In West Africa, they speak a language called Yoruba. Her ancestors show her the way to keep them safe. When the thunder came, Smoke was safe from demons, but his brother Stack had no such protection. The hellhounds came for him, and now, things were different. In the end Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), who was his lost love, became his friend and confidante, and Annie became Smoke’s just the same.

Pierce The Vein To Pierce The Veil

The Sinners (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) was created by various artists. It’s the characters themselves that truly make Sinners a force. Bobby Rush, who’s the harmonica behind Delta Slim and Miles Caton, has the ability to bring music to life. It’s the females (Jayme Lawson, who sings “Pale, Pale Moon,” and Hailee Steinfeld, who sings “Dangerous”) that bring a kick to it. Listen to the heartbeat of the sounds, the melody, the soul, and the passion with which they play. Hear what’s hidden between the notes. It comes from the heart, but because of who they are, they never feel truly at home. They play for themselves and experience a love like no other. There is another type of sound; it comes from demons with red eyes. It’s a strange tune, very different, not the same sound or soul. It’s missing that trueness that lives within the blues. These demons wanted something—something they couldn’t have. They heard Sammie from miles off, and they were serenaded. Like a siren, he drew them in, but in the end the song blew away through the wind.

There’s a passage from 1 Corinthians 10:13. It reads, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear…” The church isn’t trivial. It’s seemingly too unreal. There’s something intriguing that takes place here. Sammie sees something, something that had been taken from him—it was his guitar. It was taken from him because of the myth of a horrible darkness that echoed through its strings. His father feared Sammie was losing his way. He offered a cautionary tale, and so he said something all too real. He says. “Son? You keep dancing with the devil; one day, he’s going to follow you home.” This time, he just may have.

Me And The Devil Was Walkin’ Side By Side

In Celtic lore there is a particular spirit, a dark fae who embodies the very essence of evil. They call her “The Leannán Sidhe” or “The Dark Muse.” She breathes life into her artists. Overnight the artist becomes someone else, someone unrecognizable, and someone seemingly transformed. They create beautiful masterpieces, and with this, fame becomes them. All the while she’s feeding off of the soul of the artist. They become tortured while they rip apart from the inside. They die oh so young and ever so strangely, leaving them forever haunted and hunted—sound familiar? The dark muse, a twisted thing she is. For all the legends and myths, one thing is certain. Robert Johnson is the “King of the Delta Blues.”