SINNERS — Black Girl Horror

I have been waiting on Sinners since it was announced last year. Seeing it opening weekend was a must!

Sinners mostly takes place over the course of a single day in 1932. It features Michael B. Jordan playing twins Smoke & Stack, opening a juke joint and gathering their friends and loved ones for the grand opening. The party is jumping jumping, until a trio of vampires arrive and ruin the whole night.

Here’s my random string of thoughts about this masterpiece of a movie:

I was a little nervous about Michael B. Jordan playing twins. I didn’t know what that would look like. Well, give that man an Academy Award because that was amazing. They were two completely different people with different stories and he played off of himself so well.

In the beginning, the vampire was literally running away from the Native Americans. They tried to help but were ignored. I feel like that was very intentional because of the history of this nation. They gave a warning and went back to protect themselves because the sun was setting soon. They basically said, “Ok-FAFO.”

Preacher Boy had the craziest night of his life. He experienced true evil. But his musical gift was more powerful than that and he could not turn away from it. At the end, he runs back to church. However, he cannot put that guitar down. He met the DEVIL. The devil prayed with him and tried to baptize him! Sammie goes to the church, to his father/Father for refuge but still chose his gift. Everything he thought he knew about church and prayer was turned upside down that night. But he still chose his God given gift in the end and it brought him so much success.

Remmick wanted Sammie’s gift. He talks about how the white man stole from him all those hundreds of years ago and forced their religion on him and his people, but he is still white and still evil and wanted to collect Sammie for his gift. Everyone else was expendable and collateral damage. Very on brand.

I didn’t care about Stack & Mary- I cared about Smoke & Annie. That was real love that was torn apart by some pain that we got catch a glimpse of in just a few short hours. It was so powerful that Annie knew her baby was waiting on her in the afterlife. She also knew Smoke would soon join them and they would all be at peace. I believe she saw the outcome of the night and that is why she made that statement. In the end, Smoke taking the mojo bag off meant he was ready to reconnect with Annie and his baby. He always believed in her gift and knew that she was telling the truth about better waiting on the other side. Her love and magic protected him through the years, and even when Stack tried to bite him, her magic protected him from his own brother.

Since Mary was white passing, it’s so crazy how her and Stack could only be together once they were turned. That is why Mary screamed the way she did when Smoke drove the stake through Annie’s heart. She wanted them ALL to be together forever. Seeing that 60 years later, her and Stack were walking around living their own twisted kind of happily ever after was really poetic.

The biggest theme of this film to me was how powerful Black people and our gifts can be. Sammie’s gifts are what saved the day. The film also really shows, now matter how we try to mind our business, racism is always waiting and watching. Smoke killing all the klansmen and saving the conniving grand dragon for last was *chefs kiss*

This movie made me think a lot about one of my favorite episodes of my favorite show, Supernatural. The episode, “Crossroad Blues” is an introduction to the crossroads demon and is inspired by and mentions the story of Robert Johnson. Robert Johnson was a blues player who is said to have met the devil at the crossroads and sold his soul for the ability to be the best Blues player. In recent interviews, Ryan Coogler has mentioned this story and said that it is more than likely that Robert Johnson didn’t meet a crossroads demon or the devil; he met Papa Legba- an African deity. I’m so glad this movie shows not just Christianity, but also African religion and spirituality.

Sammie’s father made it seem like the blues is what conjures evil. While Sammy’s gift as a griot did attract Remmick, Blues music is more about sharing our history, our pain, and our traditions.

Music has always been our expression and how we relate to and connect to each other. Seeing the juke joint scene of how Sammie’s music was bringing together the past, present, and future was magical. One of my favorite sayings is “They love our rhythm but hate our blues.” This movie was truly a representation of that.

I loved this movie so much. It’s instantly a new favorite of mine. The only time I’ve seen a movie twice in theaters was Get Out- one of my favorite movies. I already have plans to go see Sinners AGAIN.