REVIEW: Strong emotional core, vampiric thrills power ‘Sinners’

What if “From Dusk Till Dawn” took place in the Great Depression?

That’s sort of what we have here in this new vampire thriller from writer and director Ryan Coogler. A period piece, “Sinners” is set in 1932 and takes place in the Mississippi Delta region. The movie stars Michael B. Jordan in dual roles, playing twin brothers Elijah and Elias Moore.

After making money as part of Al Capone’s Chicago mafia, they’ve returned to their roots to open a Juke Joint. The duo bring in family and friends to help run the venue and it turns out to be a success. In fact it’s such a success that it attracts a group of vampires.

The thing that makes this latest vampire picture work is just how connected the audience can get to the characters involved. Much of the first hour is spent getting to know several major players who all have a history with each other, and as a viewer, one can appreciate the interpersonal relationships.

As a result, what happens later in the film is more meaningful. The initial success of the brothers’ business, followed by the fight for survival against creatures of the night, is something an audience can feel invested in because of how well established everything is.

When the mayhem starts, it’s pretty great, too. There are entertaining set pieces, plenty of blood being spilled and a few clever moments. For example, there’s a sequence featuring a back and forth between characters about whether or not to let a friend in, playing into the vampire lore.

What eventually distracts from the film is its runtime. The picture runs well over two hours, and it doesn’t entirely seem necessary. The film could have been trimmed down in several areas, reducing the overall length while keeping many of the core elements that gave it its engaging story and characters.

Another negative are a few musical dance scenes that are inserted at a couple of places. One can get what Ryan Coogler was trying to get across with these moments, but they don’t entirely work, especially one later in the movie during the core conflict. The heart is in the right place with these, but ultimately they feel excessive in trying to get a point across and can take a viewer out.

It’s also unfortunate that Sammie, a cousin of the twins and a key figure in the film overall, kind of gets lost in the picture. It’s understandable that he’s automatically less memorable, as he is more reserved compared to his charaismatic relatives (who are played by a guy with a ton of screen presence), but it feels as though he’s too on the sidelines.

It’s probable that this is because Miles Caton, who plays the character, is making his acting debut, so he’s not given as much of the heavier scenes. But still, it’s noticeable that a central character doesn’t have as much agency. That’s no slight against Caton, though, who was still fine on screen.

The rest of the characters featured are solid. Elijah and Elias are properly charming and have plenty of swagger, but also have some heart and humanity, making them more than simple, smooth gangsters. Michael B. Jordan deserves credit for giving them an equal energy while providing  each enough individual personality.

Jack O’Connell is also good as the cunning lead vampire, and is somewhat reminiscent of Stephen Dorff’s Deacon Frost from “Blade.” Delroy Lindo, Hailee Steinfeld and Wunmi Mosaku also do admirable work in supporting roles, as does Li Jun Li who shines as Grace, a shopkeeper and friend of the twins.

At the end of the day, the film is a bit too long, not every creative move works, and one of the characters could have had a greater presence. However, “Sinners” is still a good vampire film, with nice deal of action, thrills, blood and thanks to the character arcs, emotional moments that resonate.

Scenes of loss and survival mean more when an audience really cares about who’s on screen, and that’s the case.  Overall, “Sinners” is enjoyable. 3.75 out of 5.