The newest edition of Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan’s brilliant partnership is as lucrative as ever, being one of the highest-grossing horror films of all time. Interestingly, if one is talking about duos within the film itself, then one should look no further than the two twin brothers, both played by Jordan. Oh, and it’s a vampire movie that takes place in the Jim Crow South. But before the viewer witnesses the bloodsucking or the two Creeds in the frame, they hear the sounds of the opening sequence: the low strings that pervade the theatre. It sets a tone for the rest of the movie, functioning as a sign for an unexpected and unique chain of events, but more importantly, that we are about to witness some revolutionary music.

Without Ludwig Göransson’s exuberant score, “Sinners” would not be as memorable. It’s an enhancement of the story, not to play on the viewer’s fear, as so many horror movies do. It’s the convergence between the mystical and the confined state of Black America in 1932. It’s clear that the goal is not to look down upon or romanticize Southern America at this time, but to make you feel it. There’s no better emotional medium for this than the young Swede’s composition as well as the blues reverberating from the soul of the character Sammy, a young musician.

Sammy’s preacher father is against his son’s artistic pursuits and vows that he will be visited by the devil. Sammy’s predicament draws some similarity to that of guitarist Robert Johnson. The myth is that he sold his soul to the devil around 1930 for artistic gain. In this film, it connects with how the vampires get bitten, initially die, and then receive immortality for the price of a forsaken soul.

The main vampire, a charismatic Irishman named Remmick, also represents something else. He pretends to be a champion for the African American struggle as one who is also from an oppressed group, but is only a dark empath. He first strives for the Black folk to become his victims so they can sing the songs of his people while under his control. But most importantly, he yearns to feed on Sammy to connect with his own Irish ancestors from the past, something the young musician can do with his magical music. There’s a beautifully choreographed scene in the juke joint where much of the film takes place, when Sammy’s music transcends the present and invokes musicians of the past and future into the picture.

The rest of the characters have their own unique intricacies, a nod to an acting job well done. Whether it be either of the twins, that being Stack’s jovial yet unscrupulous temperament, or Smoke’s more stoic yet benevolent demeanor (don’t get it twisted, these men are still gangsters), the diverse supporting cast includes an oddly in-place, strong-willed Chinese woman, an older musician with enough time spent on this earth to have that fearless grandpa energy, a spiritual Hoodoo woman that helps the audience laugh and learn by explaining the lore of vampires, or a mysteriously enticing biracial woman that tries to pass as white in the movie’s day and age.

I’m no expert on filmmaking, but if I had to choose a certain subfield that I know the most about in the business, it would have to be screenwriting. To me, despite the tremendous direction, cinematography, sound, music, and acting, this was the weakest of a very strong herd. I get the bizarreness behind horror films, that they’re supposed to shock the audience, but I found aspects of this plot to be a little bit confusing. The induction of the Ku Klux Klan in a particular scene seemed random and distracting from the already racial and philosophical allegory of the vampires.

I think much of my quibbling does serve a purpose, if not a correlation. There’s so much going on in this film—it’s a bunch of things spliced together. Coogler’s doing a lot. There’s so much to talk about that I haven’t covered in this review. But what is on the screen is great material overall, and I think wanting more from the film is done justice by both a lack of clarification in the plot structure and by the flick just being that good in every other sector, most especially the music that penetrates the Southern landscape throughout.