Note: while this review is spoiler-free, I will be talking about what the horror is in the movie, something that wasn’t revealed in trailer 1 but confirmed in trailer 2.

Sinners is the latest effort from writer/director Ryan Coogler and the first to not be based on a historical event (Fruitvale Station), or pre-existing IP (Black Panther, Creed). Not only that, but it’s the director’s first foray into the horror genre, reimagining and remixing the Vampire genre. So, how does Coogler fare working on his own material? Let’s find out.

Set in 1932, Jim Crow era Mississippi, Sinners follows two twin brothers known as Smoke and Stack as they return home after working for the bootleggers in Chicago. Both twins are played by Michael B. Jordan, who plays the brothers in such a way that it becomes easy to tell the two apart based on their subtle mannerisms. The costume department helps with the visual cues, with Smoke wearing blue and Stack red, but by the halfway point, you don’t need the visual cues to help know which twin is which. Huge testament to Jordan’s acting here.

The twins buy an old mill off of a supposedly reformed Klansman with the design on it becoming a Juke Joint. But opening night has to be tonight, so they can start earning a profit. So the first act of the film really is about setting up the characters, as they navigate town in search of cooks, bouncers, and most importantly of all, musicians. The film touches on themes of crime, race, and currency, but never feels like it’s preaching to a modern audience.

Music plays a key role in Sinners, much more than I was expecting. It’s not only there to set the tone and mood of the era, but it’s actually a plot device. How, you’ll have to wait and see. But this is a romping, stomping ode to the 30s era Southern Blues, and composer Ludwig Göransson really tapped into its spirit both with his score and the compositions heard within the film itself. A lot of the music was recorded on-camera, giving it a raw and unfiltered feel. The highlight of this musical talent is for sure Preacher Boy, played by first-time actor Miles Caton. What a discovery. Not only can the man sing, but his character, cousin to the twins, was the heart of the film in a way as an ambitious youth who yearns to play music, something that his preacher father does not approve of.

Rounding out the rest of the cast is Hailee Steinfeld as Mary, an old flame of Stack’s who is back in town after the passing of her mother, Wunmi Mosaku as Annie, Smoke’s estranged wife, Omar Benson Miller as Cornbread, Li Jun Li as Grace Chow, Jack O’Connell as Remmick, and Delroy Lindo as Delta Slim, a drunkard musician. Lindo is a veteran actor and of the supporting cast, he really dives into his character, adding an unexpected twangy drawl to his character.

From a technical level, Sinners is outstanding. The costumes, sets, and cinematography really shine, especially in the first act. There’s a shot where a character has to cross the street to go from one store to another, and the whole frame is populated by extras, props, and a whole block of other shops that made me think, if you pause this movie, you get a postcard from the 30s in Mississippi. There’s a faded quality to the film as well, and ample film grain to make it feel old. Love it.

The first half of the movie was so good, I forgot that there were even vampires in the plot. That’s not a bad thing, but if you go into Sinners expecting horror from end to end, you’ll probably be disappointed. Sinners is more about character and taking its time, so that when the vampires do come out, you care about what’s going on. The tonal shift isn’t as abrupt as, say, From Dusk Till Dawn, but the movie definitely starts shifting gears in the second act. By the third, it’s a pulpy, almost Grindhouse-style vampire flick. I did find the blood effects to be really distracting, though, as it looked more like condensed soup rather than blood. Not sure why that happened there, considering everything else looked so good.

Sinners isn’t perfect, that said. While the script was overall good, it did stumble as it went. While there were a few oddities and quirks, as we’ll call them throughout the movie, the biggest problem was the ending, in that the film didn’t know how to wrap it up. It was a bit like Return of the King; it just kept going. I do think that one of the endings could have been completely removed without affecting the narrative at all. Likewise, there’s a six-ish minute post-credit scene, so don’t leave the cinema right away as it really ties the whole movie together and also features a titan of the blues genre. I can’t help but think the movie should’ve been framed on the opening and closing with this scene that said. I also would’ve liked a bit more time with the lead vampire, played by Jack O’Connell, just to understand his backstory and goals a bit more. It’s there, but I think it could’ve been fleshed out a touch more.

Overall, though, Sinners is a film that’s strong in nearly every category, but stumbles here and there in the script department. But in an age where almost all of our big-budget films are based on preexisting brand names, it’s so good to see an original film from a talented director come out. Come for the blues, stay for the soupy blood.