Sinners (2025)

Ryan Coogler reteamed with frequent collaborator Michael B. Jordan (and Wakanda Forever composer Ludwig Göransson) and made some musically-driven magic with this critically-acclaimed supernatural drama set in the Mississippi Delta. Michael plays a set of twins, Smoke and Stack, who have returned from their stint with the Chicago Mafia with plans to open a juke joint in their hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi (which is also the supposed location of the crossroads where a certain bluesman sold his soul to the devil in exchange for the ability to master the guitar). After buying an old sawmill, the brothers split up to get things ready for their big opening night and both reconnect with their past loves. Stack runs into his passing-for-white ex Mary (Hailee Steinfeld) while recruiting piano player Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo), while Smoke pays a visit to his estranged wife Annie (Wunmi Mosak), the local Hoodoo expert. At the same time, an Irish immigrant named Remmick (Jack O’Connell) is on the run from a group of Choctaw and finds shelter with a married couple in the Klan, whom he then promptly turns into vampires like himself. The Black community comes out to celebrate the juke joint’s opening, including a married singer named Pearline (Jayme Lawson) that the twins’ guitar-playing cousin Sammie (Miles Caton) has taken a shine to. But guess who also shows up? The white vampires. They try to bribe their way in but are denied entry, so Mary goes out to talk to them and see just how much money they have. Once they turn Mary and she goes back inside, the bloody chaos begins. We’ll leave it at that because the film is truly spectacular, and not just because Hailee, Wunmi, and Jayme all have incredibly steamy sex scenes - though that’s definitely part of what makes Sinners a must-see!