Sinners

Annotation for KRRR! 2026

Director Ryan Coogler and actor superstar Michael B. Jordan's journey from humble beginnings to the top of Hollywood could, in the hands of a capable screenwriter, turn into a grand celebration of the power of talent and friendship. They met in 2012, when they made the social drama Fruitvale together, with which they succeeded at the Sundance, Cannes and Independent Spirit Awards. They subsequently revived the Rocky series with the successful Creed, earned $ 1.35 billion with the comic book Black Panther, and although its sequel was not as successful, it was still a huge hit. After success on the independent scene and in the blockbuster field, they were only missing a few Oscars. And they got it this year.

Sinners is an auteur project that Coogler directed, wrote, produced, and of course cast Michael B. Jordan in. And in the year 2025, when horror films were doing exceptionally well in cinemas, they succeeded on all fronts, although it would be very shortsighted to treat Sinners only as horror. Although the story takes place in the 1930s in a bar besieged by a group of vampires, Coogler offered more than just horror, terror, blood and action. Of course, when it comes down to it, it is excellent, and if Sinners were to be just an ordinary genre spectacle, it would be among the best by far. But its creators wanted more. Sinners is an audiovisually thrilling ride that, in addition to battles with undead monsters, flirts with other genres, while opening up topics such as racism, segregation and the influence of music, but also culture in general on social development. From a variation on Rodriguez and Tarantino's From Dusk Till Dawn, they willingly dodge towards a musical, a love drama and a film about finding one's own roots and identity. Thanks to Coogler's directorial ideas, Jordan's charisma (which the audience gets in double measure here, because he plays twins) and the traditionally excellent music of the director's court composer Ludwig Göransson, a postmodern, playful, funny, bloody, but at the same time unexpectedly smart and layered spectacle was created on the screen. In addition, The Sinners has already made history with a record-breaking sixteen Oscar nominations, with Coogler, Jordan, Göransson and cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw all taking home the awards. After just five films, the duo of Coogler and Jordan can say that they have succeeded in everything they could in their industry. And considering that neither of them is yet forty, they may just be getting started…

Matěj Svoboda