Sinners: A scintillating horror noire with plenty of soul

19 April 2025, 18:14 | Updated: 19 April 2025, 18:37

Sinners is in cinemas now. Picture: Warner Bros. Pictures

Prepare to see double as Michael B. Jordan plays twin brothers for this Southern horror.

Loading audio...

Sinners is the latest action horror to set tongues wagging thanks to its stellar cast and scorching storytelling.

Directed by Ryan Coogler - who helmed Black Panther and Creed - and starring Michael B. Jordan in the dual role of twin brothers Smoke and Stack, the film resurrects the vampire genre one more time for a new audience.

The film is certainly bold, bright and ballsy, but for all its soul, star-power and Southern charm, is Sinners actually successful? Watch the trailer for the film and find out what we thought of it below.

Watch the trailer for Sinners

Read more:

When is Sinners released?

Sinners is available in to watch in UK cinemas from Friday 18th April.

Sinners film poster. Picture: Warner Bros. Pictures

Who's in the cast of Sinners?

Joining Michael B. Jordan in the cast of Sinners is Hailee Steinfeld as Mary, Jack O'Connell as Remmick, Wunmi Mosaku as Annie, Jayme Lawson as Pearline, Omar Miller as Cornbread, Miles Caton as Sammie Moore, Delroy Lindo as Delta Slim and more.

What is Sinners about?

A synopsis reads: "Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Jordan) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back."

Our Sinners review:

Good Friday may seem like a strange time to release a vampire movie, but Sinners - steeped in spirituality and redemption - somehow makes a good fit. Though at the start of the film we know something unholy has gone down, we don't find out right away just what that something is. In fact, for much of the movie, you'd be forgiven for thinking you weren't watching a horror at all. Much of the 137-minute=film follows Michael B. Jordan's SmokeStack twins, who return to their hometown to set up a juke joint. It doesn't take much to guess that the pair of ne'er-do-wells have returned from Chicago with ill-gotten gains, but when they pick up their talented cousin Sammie to play the blues guitar and sing at the bar, we soon realise that this will be the place where all the action takes place. Add in a motley crew of characters willing to come down to the juke joint and you have yourself a right party and a potential nightmare waiting to happen. When the action does finally take place, its mixture of jump scares, twists and all-out horror will be enough to satiate your thirst.

Though a little vampiric in its influences, Sinners delivers a horror steeped in fantasy, mystery and history. Set in the Deep South and within the time of Jim Crow, there's more than a few allusions to the horrors of slavery, racism and inequality in the United States. However, the film still manages to be vibrant and joyful, with a moments that provide all-out belly laughs for cinema audiences. While at times we'd argue that it doesn't always pull off what it tries to do (thoughts turn in particular to a time-spanning Bacchic dance scene at the juke joint), the film can never be accused of being dull. While we're not sure Sinners needed to be quite so lengthy and jam-packed with ideas (which is evidenced perhaps by not one, but TWO end credit scenes) we appreciate its musicality and theatricality, its ambition and its ability to entertain.

4/5

Can you watch Sinners on streaming?

It's not clear yet when Sinners will be available on streaming, but following the trend of most blockbusters, it's estimated that Sinners will be available on streaming via Premium Video On Demand in around a month's time. As Sinners is a Warner Bros release, it will make its streaming debut on Max or (HBO Max), which is Warner Bros. Discovery streaming platform.