Ryan Coogler’s 2025 film Sinners reimagines the vampire genre through a rich tapestry of Southern Gothic horror, musical heritage, and racial allegory. Set in 1932 Mississippi, the narrative follows twin brothers Smoke and Stack (both portrayed by Michael B. Jordan), World War I veterans and former Chicago gangsters, who return home to establish a juke joint aimed at uplifting their Black community. Their endeavor, however, awakens supernatural forces when their musically gifted cousin Sammie (Miles Caton) performs blues so potent it attracts vampires led by the enigmatic Remmick (Jack O’Connell). The film delves into themes of cultural resilience and the perils of artistic expression, using the vampire motif as a metaphor for exploitation and appropriation.
Beyond its genre-blending narrative, Sinners stands as Coogler’s most personal project to date, drawing inspiration from his family’s Southern roots and the rich history of blues music. The film’s production was notable for its use of IMAX 70mm film, capturing the era’s ambiance with striking authenticity. Upon its release, Sinners garnered critical acclaim and achieved commercial success, grossing over USD 161 million worldwide, a testament to audiences’ appetite for original storytelling that intertwines historical context with supernatural elements.
Brothers Plan Juke Joint
Clarksdale, Mississippi, October 16, 1932. The story opens framing a later event: a boy named Sammie “Preacher Boy” Moore arrives at his father’s church, visibly distressed and clutching a broken guitar. His father tells him to set the guitar aside, hinting at some dark event that has occurred. Just a day earlier, Sammie was a well-behaved child who diligently helped his family with their daily chores before taking time for himself.
The story then shifts to twin brothers, Elijah “Smoke” Moore and Elias “Stack” Moore, who are waiting to meet with local KKK leader Hogwood (David Maldonado). The brothers plan to buy an old sawmill to convert it into a juke joint catering exclusively to Black patrons. They pay cash on the spot, but before sealing the deal, they make it clear that if any of Hogwood’s men set foot on the premises, they won’t back down from confrontation. It’s worth noting that Smoke and Stack are gangsters recently returned from Chicago, looking for a fresh start.
Back to Sammie, he visits the church where his father works and retrieves his guitar. His father warns him against playing music too passionately, cautioning that it might draw in evil forces. Eventually, Sammie leaves with Smoke and Stack, his cousins. They stop at a hidden location to collect a car they had stashed away. Planning to open the juke joint that very night, they decide to split up to save time. Stack and Sammie go to find a pianist, while Smoke heads into town to recruit someone who can decorate the club.
Arriving in town, Smoke instructs a young boy to honk the car horn if anyone stares at the vehicle for more than ten seconds. Meanwhile, he visits his Chinese friend’s shop, a man named Bo Chow (Yao). During their conversation, the car horn suddenly blares. Some people had been attempting to pilfer items from Smoke’s car, but upon realizing who it belongs to, they flee in terror. Afterward, Smoke asks Bo to decorate his club for the evening. Bo contacts his wife, Grace (Li Jun Li), who works at the shop across the street and has a talent for decoration. Their child calls for her attention while she is there.
Meanwhile, Stack and Sammie continue their journey. Stack shares his philosophy on relationships, using a metaphor about savoring a treat to illustrate his point. He then reveals that Smoke had killed their abusive uncle, who used to beat Stack mercilessly. The guitar was a gift from Smoke, and Stack mentions it once belonged to the legendary Charlie Patton. Stack asks Sammie to play some blues on the guitar. Stack is stunned when he hears Sammie’s beautiful voice.
Gathering More Key Players
They arrive at the train station where they meet a renowned musician named Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo), infamous for his heavy drinking. Stack wants to bring him on board to play at their new juke joint. At first, Slim declines because he’s wary about the club’s reputation, but Stack tempts him with some Irish beer. After taking a sip, Slim declares it’s the finest drink he’s ever tasted, and since Stack has plenty more where that came from, Slim agrees to join them.
Slim and Sammie jam together while Stack promotes the grand opening of the juke joint that night. At the station, Sammie becomes captivated by a young married woman named Pearline (Jayme Lawson). Meanwhile, a white woman named Mary (Hailee Steinfeld) keeps eyeing Stack. It turns out Mary and Stack share a history—they were romantically involved until Stack vanished without warning, and Mary has been longing for closure ever since.
Slim joins their entourage. Along the way, they spot Slim’s friends who had become prisoners. Previously, Slim and his companions were arrested by white police for their antics, but then the officers had an idea—since they were talented musicians, the police exploited them to perform the blues, which even white audiences enjoyed. Slim blew his money on alcohol, but tragically, his friends were falsely accused and locked up again. They pull up to a flower garden where a hulking man named Cornbread (Omar Miller) works. Stack offers him a more profitable gig than harvesting flowers—working security for their establishment.
Smoke arrives at a house and visits a grave, which belongs to his child. The house is home to Smoke’s estranged wife, Annie (Wunmi Mosaku). They haven’t crossed paths in years. Annie has already caught wind of Smoke’s plans to build a juke joint and suspects they’re mixed up in shady dealings to finance it—money that purchased the abandoned sawmill. Since Smoke’s departure, Annie has faithfully prayed for him, which she believes has kept him out of harm’s way. Smoke still carries the mojo bag Annie gave him long ago. Eventually, the two get swept up in the moment after such a long separation, and they end up rekindling their physical connection.
While Smoke and Annie reconnect after years apart, elsewhere, the story introduces the looming supernatural threat. A sinister figure, Remmick, attempts to enter a couple’s home. Remmick pleads with the couple to let him in and offers them gold as incentive. Shortly after, a group of Choctaw vampire hunters arrives in pursuit of Remmick, warning that he poses an extreme danger. When the wife refuses to grant them entry, the hunters reluctantly depart. Upon returning to her husband, she discovers Remmick has revealed his true nature as a vampire and transforms the unsuspecting couple into vampires as well.
Music Summons Dark Forces
Elsewhere, Black patrons stream into the grand opening of Smoke and Stack’s juke joint. An elderly man attempts to pay not with cash but with worker’s vouchers. Smoke bristles at this, concerned the establishment might go under if everyone pays this way, but Stack counters, “This is the only place where workers like them can blow off steam.” Meanwhile, Mary arrives and encounters Stack, who evidently knows her and allows her inside. Sammie also reconnects with Pearline.
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Sammie approaches Mary and cautions her against meeting Stack again, warning that Smoke will be furious. Upon learning Sammie is Stack’s cousin, Mary strikes up a conversation, and they end up sharing drinks as she confides in him about her past and recent loss. Mary confides that her parents were half-Black, and she recently lost her mother. Eventually, she runs into Smoke, who instructs Stack to escort Mary out. Mary stands her ground, insisting she wants to experience the blues music, leading her and Stack to briefly reflect on their past relationship.
The scene shifts to Delta Slim at the piano, inviting Sammie to join him for a blues performance. As Sammie performs an original song, the music captivates the crowd with profound intensity. As his father warned, such powerful music seems to resonate beyond the physical, attracting not only listeners but also unseen forces—in this case, vampires. The music’s power seems to transcend cultural divides, unifying everyone present in the experience. After his performance, Sammie charms Pearline by applying Stack’s earlier relationship advice from their car ride.
Meanwhile, three vampires led by Remmick arrive at the club, claiming to be musicians. They attempt to sing their way into gaining entry. Despite their claims to be musicians and having money, Smoke instinctively distrusts the three white strangers and firmly denies them entry, ordering them off the property. They retreat slowly, clinging to hope they might still be admitted.
Inside, the celebration continues unabated. Smoke and Sammie share a moment where Sammie expresses gratitude for everything Smoke has provided. Smoke warns him that musicians rarely find contentment, but Sammie reveals he already has his sights set on Chicago. Smoke cautions that Chicago isn’t the promised land he imagines and numerous perils await, but Sammie insists he’s matured and shouldn’t be under Smoke’s thumb anymore. This defiance provokes Smoke to threaten that if Sammie crosses him, he won’t hesitate to end him.
The Vampire Attack Begins
Elsewhere, Stack is under pressure because they need funds to keep the club afloat. Mary, being white, proposes an idea—approaching the three white strangers from earlier to see if they truly possess the wealth that could sustain the club. Mary ventures outside where the three are still lingering and singing. She sets her plan in motion and notices they’re carrying gold unlike any currency she’s familiar with. Mary fails to recognize they’re vampires, and they ultimately exploit her grief over her mother’s passing to attack her.
Back inside the club, Pearline takes the stage, captivating everyone with her stunning vocals. Mary returns, passing Cornbread’s security post. Cornbread asks Slim to watch the door while he steps away to use the restroom. Mary hands the gold coins to Stack and then seduces him, suggesting they “plant crops” outside. While relieving himself, Cornbread hears chilling noises from the vampires nearby.
Smoke is preoccupied handling a troublemaker at the club. Stack seizes the moment to slip away with Mary into a private room. Sammie searches for Stack but hears intimate sounds and dares not interrupt. Since Sammie hesitates, Smoke goes looking for his brother himself. Despite being shot by Smoke, Mary—now transformed into a vampire—emerges, and tragically, Stack has fallen victim to her bite. Stack is no longer among the living.
Amid the chaos following Mary’s transformation and attack on Stack, which may have involved gunshots, Slim attempts to restore order and urges everyone to evacuate. The mood turns somber, but Annie realizes something critical—whatever attacked Stack was no ordinary creature. She suggests they remove Stack’s body first, but Smoke adamantly refuses. Smoke remains skeptical of Annie’s concerns and dismisses any talk of superstition. Meanwhile, Grace urges Bo to leave, and Bo heads out to retrieve their car.
Cornbread returns from the restroom, but something about him seems off. Annie detects something unsettling and denies him entry. Annie already comprehends that Cornbread is dead and what stands before them is a malevolent entity. Cornbread demands his pay from Smoke before departing, and fortunately—Smoke escapes being bitten. Cornbread has become a vampire.
They hear pounding from inside Stack’s room. They’re stunned to find Stack apparently alive again. Smoke moves to release him, but Annie firmly prevents it, insisting that creature is no longer Stack. Stack continues pleading to be let out and eventually smashes through the door. Fortunately, Annie arrives with garlic, sending Stack fleeing in terror. Annie explains that they’re dealing with vampires. Grace panics, remembering Bo is still outside. Drawing on her knowledge, Annie shares strategies for defeating vampires by piercing their hearts with wooden stakes and exposing them to sunlight.
Sammie finally comprehends what his father had warned him about that morning—it was Sammie who inadvertently summoned these creatures, and they came hunting for him. Annie asks Smoke to pierce her heart if she gets bitten by vampires later. Smoke clearly struggles with this request. Suddenly, they discover the corpse of another victim and hastily remove it, likely fearing it could reanimate or draw more attention. Everyone who departed earlier has transformed into vampires, and they can be seen making eerie music outside.
Final Battle for Survival
To verify no one inside is a vampire, everyone must consume garlic. Pearline resists because she detests the taste, but when threatened, she reluctantly complies. Then comes Slim’s turn—he appears to be in agony and about to retch when eating it, but he’s merely playing a prank. Smoke investigates what appears to be blood but turns out to be beer. Just then, someone pounds on the door, claiming they were left behind earlier. That person has already fallen victim to Cornbread’s bite.
Bo returns behaving normally, but he’s clearly been turned into a vampire. He attempts to convince Grace to welcome the vampires inside. Remmick arrives like a self-proclaimed savior, inviting Smoke and the others to simply embrace becoming vampires. He also threatens Grace’s child back in town, demonstrating supernatural reach or knowledge, and attempts to coerce Grace by speaking to her in Chinese. Remmick declares that if they surrender Sammie, they’ll all be spared, but they remain steadfast in protecting him. Remmick also reveals that Hogwood plans to wipe out everyone in the club by morning. Stack tries to sway Smoke as well, but no one is willing to sacrifice Sammie.
Grace, understandably frantic after her child is threatened, creates chaos inside. Meanwhile, outside, the vampires advance on the club while singing haunting melodies. At her breaking point, Grace challenges all the vampires to enter, igniting a fierce battle. The fighting rages on, and tragically, Annie falls victim to Stack’s bite. Honoring his promise, Smoke is forced to drive a stake through Annie’s heart to prevent her transformation. Afterward, Slim lures the vampires away and sacrifices himself so Smoke and Sammie can escape, but Smoke must confront Stack once more. Pearline also succumbs to a vampire’s bite.
The climactic battle unfolds between Sammie and Remmick, while Smoke faces off against Stack. When Stack attempts to bite Smoke, he finds himself unable to because of Annie’s protective charm. Sammie manages to strike Remmick with his guitar and ultimately restrains him until dawn breaks. At last, all vampires, including Remmick, are consumed by the morning sunlight, with only Smoke and Sammie surviving the ordeal.
Smoke urges Sammie to discard the guitar, but Sammie cannot bring himself to do so. Smoke reveals the guitar never belonged to any famous artist but was actually their father’s. Smoke tells Sammie to flee in Stack’s car. As Sammie heads towards his father’s church—bringing the narrative back to the opening scene—Smoke prepares for the inevitable arrival of Hogwood’s men, grappling with the loss of his dream and loved ones.
Smoke confronts his grief over the loss of everyone who helped build his dream. That morning, Hogwood’s men arrive intent on eliminating any survivors, but they themselves are dispatched by Smoke, who utilizes heavy artillery presumably stashed from his gangster days. In his dying moments, the wounded Smoke reunites with visions of Annie and their child, cradling their child in his arms. The story concludes back at the church, where Sammie’s father instructs him to relinquish the guitar, leaving it ambiguous whether Sammie finally lets it go or not.
