THAT WAS A LOT: Ryan Coogler's SINNERS (wri & dir by Ryan Coogler, w/ Michael B. Jordan, Warner Brothers, 137mns, USA)

THAT WAS A LOT: Ryan Coogler's SINNERS (wri & dir by Ryan Coogler, w/ Michael B. Jordan, Warner Brothers, 137mns, USA)

Ryan Coogler's SINNERS is a movie made by someone ready to shoot their shot.

Not that FRUITVALE STATION, CREED, or BLACK PANTHER 1 & 2 weren't movies made by a moviemaker giving it their all but SINNERS is made by a moviemaker who has the power to make exactly the movie they want to make. And makes it. 

It works. Bottom line. And it's audacious. Which is always inspiring in this age of a lot of major studio productions that are underwhelming.

It also feels like a mess. And it may not be winning over any horror purists anytime soon with its fast and loose approach to the "rules". 

But ultimately getting plaudits for how it adheres or develops out of the 'lore' is not what this movie is about. It's about something much bigger-the national horror of race relations in America and the paradoxical alchemy of that terror that has produced a musical identity that has been the envy of the world for one hundred years.

Michael B Jordan does a great job distinguishing his dual roles as the SmokeStack twins. You always know who is who. Maybe the best twins performance since Jeremy Irons’ turn in Dead Ringers.

First though, a few quick bars about the story itself-WWI vets, twins, Chicago gangsters Smoke and Stack (both played by Jordan) return to their hometown in Mississippi with some ill-gotten money to go into business for themselves by opening up a 'juke joint'. 

They enlist their musical prodigy cousin Sammie (holy spirit on the guitar with a voice that's even better), son of a local preacher, round up a team of friends, lovers, relations, and open the juke joint the same night they roll into town.

Meanwhile, an Irish vampire named Remmick is biting folks and creating a kind of vampire congregation hellbent on getting something special in the juke joint.

The first half of the movie is all character. And we get great character work all-around. Hallie Steinfeld's Mary has just lost her mother, who fostered Smoke and Stack. And she has unfinished romantic business with Stack. Wunmi Musaku's Annie is Smoke's estranged wife. And they still love and long for each other despite an extended separation and the loss of a child. Then there's Delroy Lindo's Delta Slim, a local alcoholic and blues musician who decides to take the job for the Chicago beer.

For as gonzo as the movie gets (and again, no spoilers), it has a pretty classic first half, second half structure that has worked well for many moviemakers including James Cameron with ALIENS or even Prachya Pinkaew in the classic 2003 Thai martial arts movie ONG BAK. 

That is, the first half is all about slowly developing character, atmosphere, key locations that will play a part, story so that from the mid point to the end of the picture things can go crazy (with aliens or martial arts fighting or here-vampires).

It’s gonna be a long night.

There's also a strong FROM DUSK TILL DAWN vibe with the single location juke joint becoming the battleground between the living and the dead. But a better movie antecedent may be George Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD in terms of single locations, monsters, and American race relations.

What the movie is truly about is revealed in a totally nutso (yet awesome) midpoint sequence that serves as the hinge for the two parts. 

It's hard to fully reconcile what the movie is saying. Because it is SAYING something pretty big. And it is saying A LOT. And it is saying A LOT about A LOT of things. 

There seem to be comments about how poor or oppressed cultures are united in musical expression, struggles with religious belief or rejection of that belief. Calling to things that are rejected by mainstream society. The wages of sin. . .

There are also some good ol' boy racists waiting in the wings for some non-horror good ol' fashioned ass kicking.

And if that weren't enough, the movie blasts by the beginning of its end credits with yet more key story. Although this writer has learned to always watch the ENTIRE credits, that is especially true in this movie which saves a key scene, reveal, and a final shot after the credits start.

Oh no! Not Hailee Steinfeld…

Again, the vampire stuff is actually some of the sloppiest work in the movie. Folks seem to turn into vampires within seconds except when they don't. Also a key rule seems to get ignored or broken at a key moment that left this writer feeling like they'd missed a bit of exposition to explain why suddenly that 'rule' no longer applied.

The best vampire stuff has nothing to do with blood or gore but with that great rule that you have to invite a vampire inside for it to enter. Coogler milks this rule for all it's worth with several scenes of great character work, tension, and suspense with NO special effects. Just our knowledge of that rule.

Ultimately though it is wonderful to see a moviemaker make something nutso and bold that also connects with the audience (this movie has been a huge hit) and also has something powerful and important on its mind.

Coogler appears to have guaranteed himself at least a few more chances at bat to take the big swings. With SINNERS, he shows he knows how to make the most of the opportunity.

Craig Hammill is the founder.programmer of Secret Movie Club