Sinners (2025)

As everyone knows, certainly everyone who grew up in the 1980s and was so educated by Footloose anyway, singing and dancing can be sinful. Some people would rather that we didn't do it, especially when we can instead spend time being thankful for the meagre morsels of happiness that life allows us. I was awaiting one such morsel when I sat myself down to finally see Sinners, a film I knew I wanted to see on as big a screen as possible, especially after that lovely video from Ryan Coogler that discussed both aspect ratios and his absolute love of film. The fact that I didn't love this as much as so many others shouldn't stop you from also going to see it on the big screen. It's certainly a spectacle, it's often a real audio and visual treat, but it's also apparent that there's ambition here unmatched by the final product.

William B. Jordan takes on two roles here, playing twins named Smoke and Stack. After making some money in Chicago, they have returned to their hometown to open a juke joint, where they will encourage people to drink and dance, accompanied by the music of Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo) and their talented cousin, Sammie Moore (Miles Caton). The opening night looks to be eventful enough, with Stack being confronted by Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), Smoke reconnecting with Annie (Wunmi Mosaku), and Sammie hoping to get time to connect with the married Pearline (Jayme Lawson). It's going to get more eventful, however, when Remmick (Jack O'Connell) and a few cohorts turn up, looking to connect their fangs with the jugular veins of those inside the juke joint.

Written and directed by Coogler, Sinners is a bit of something for everyone. If you're a fan of Michael B. Jordan then you get double the Michael B. Jordan, and he's great in both roles. If you want some vampire action then you get it. If you want some energetic music sequences then, oh boy, you really get it. It's a shame that Coogler didn't just dive right into making this a musical. It comes very close to being one anyway, but you can tell that people seriously considered the balance of everything here. There's also some solid drama, as well as a comment on those who have been othered by society banding together to become stronger and less afraid. The problem that Sinners has is that Coogler doesn't quite get the mix right. This feels like an accomplished first or second feature, considering how much he tries to cram in to the film. There's even a coda that would have arguably worked better as an extra short provided as some supplementary treat when the film hits the home market.

It gets a lot right though, and delivers satisfyingly adult content in a world that seems intent on diluting every work of art in order to appeal to that mystical four quadrant demographic. Sinners is sexy, occasionally very sexy. It's intelligent. It's thoughtful. There are some good gore effects deployed when we get the vampire action. And it has a rhythm and bass thrum running through it that allows the score and soundtrack to help propel the narrative in a way I haven't felt since the equally-admirable-but-less-successful Babylon, which, interestingly enough, feels like it would make a nice bacchanalian pairing with this. There's one sequence that is already a strong contender for scene of the year, and I say that as someone who doubts that this film will make my own personal Top 10 when such things are due to be considered.

It helps that there isn't a weak link in the cast. Jordan easily holds his own alongside Jordan, and it was perhaps inevitable that in a film like this he would be the only one capable of matching his own cool and charisma. Caton, a young singer (and now also a guitarist, after learning it for this role) making his acting debut, stands out as a talent to keep an eye on, especially if he keeps getting roles that allow him to win over audience with his amazing voice. I always feel that Lindo is overlooked by too many directors out there, with the exception of Spike Lee, and I'm glad to see that he's typically great in a role that makes very good use of him. Steinfeld and Mosaku bring different ways of showing their strength opposite different Jordan characters, both getting at least one impactful emotional beat, and Lawson feels authentic in how she responds to the music and energy around her. O'Connell gets the most obviously fun role, which he does well with, and the rest of the cast includes Saul Williams, Yao (AKA Thomas Pang), Helena Hu, Li Jun Li, Omar Benson Miller, and David Maldonado.

Sinners wants to be so many things, including a decades-spanning epic in the style of at least one other sexy vampire tale I could mention. The fact that it doesn't hit every target that Coogler is aiming at doesn't make it a bad film, and doesn't make it a waste of your time. It's just a shame that it may end up leaving some people (like myself) a bit unsatisfied when thinking of the many ways the ingredients could have been adjusted to improve the end result. Although, having just said that, I was VERY satisfied with a certain moment that happened near the very end of the movie, something that felt cathartic and also clearly underlined a point about monsters not needing to be fanged and/or supernatural.

7/10

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Alice, Darling (2022)

Anna Kendrick stars as Alice, a young woman who heads off for a girls-only break with her best friends, Tess (Kaniehtiio Horn) and Sophie (Wunmi Mosaku). If that sounds like the start of many other Anna Kendrick movies you could watch then let me try to convince you otherwise. Alice, Darling soon starts to reveal more and more about the central character, and specifically starts to peel away at the layers of her relationship with Simon (Charlie Carrick).

The feature directorial debut from Mary "yes, daughter of Bill" Nighy, Alice, Darling is one of those films that just gets everything right in a way that allows it to become quietly impressive, leaving a strong impression in your mind long after the end credits have rolled. This is partly to do with the script by Alanna Francis, which starts from a very recognisable place before moving towards darker and scarier territory, although the dark and scary parts will still be recognisable to a number of viewers, and it's partly to do with the excellent performances.

Kendrick initially seems to be doing the kind of thing that Kendrick does so well, but she gets to show a lot more range as the film unfurls like some kind of pretty, poisonous, flower. Perfection and happiness are on the surface, but the cracks are visible, and there are deep fault lines running underneath them. Horn and Mosaku are both very good in their roles, dealing with their friend in different ways, but always coming from a place of good intentions. Mosaku is calm and mature, whereas Horn seems to be much more confrontational and seemingly irresponsible. Then there's Carrick, playing a man who is ever-present even when he's not onscreen. He's at the end of a text message or phone call, he's the elephant in the room for a huge chunk of the film. Carrick may overdo things slightly, but his performance is there to highlight the central theme of the film, showing what many people will tolerate while they consider themselves in a loving and strong relationship.

Alice, Darling covers a lot of ground, especially when you think of how slight the main premise is, and both Nighy and Francis should be commended for that. There are moments when this could almost be a full-on horror movie, but there are also moments that just show the pain and anxiety of a woman who has allowed herself to be changed so much that she is unsure of whether or not she can recapture the essence of who she once was. Red flags, boundaries, controlling behaviour, confrontational behaviour, self-care, and self-belief are all examined, and the whole movie serves as a reminder of just how little you often really know about someone’s life and someone’s relationships. You may not come away from this with a big grin on your face, but you will have plenty of food for thought. And perhaps a new-found appreciation for Kendrick.

8/10

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Netflix And Chill: His House (2020)

If you're the kind of person who believes that the UK is being swarmed by "illegal immigrants", all aiming to come here because the system is so easy to play, and immediately being handed a 7-bedroom house and £500 a week, then His House is definitely not the film for you. This depicts the lead characters, a pair of asylum seekers, as real people with very real horror in their lives. It then adds some more horror, a bit of cinematic horror, and starts to intertwine things together in a way that endangers both of their lives.

Sope Dirisu is Bol Majur and Wunmi Mosaku is Rial Majur. They have travelled together from a country where ongoing war has cost the lives of too many already. It wasn't always just the two of them either. A child was lost along the way. Having waited to have their case processed, Bol and Rial are given a small house to live in, with numerous conditions to their stay (as their case goes through the next stage) and a weekly sum of £74/week to live on. It seems like a great new start for them. But there's something else in their new home, a supernatural force that knows exactly how to frighten and torture them. If they cannot defeat it, they will lose everything.

Based on a story by Felicity Evans and Toby Venables, His House is a feature debut from writer-director Remi Weekes, who has a number of shorts to his credit from just over the past decade. It's not only a superb feature debut, it's a superb horror movie. It mixes together the horror and the journey to seek asylum so well that it's a reminder of just how effectively the genre can be used against a backdrop of thought-provoking social commentary. There is nothing wrong with a horror movie that has a maniac going all stabby on horny teens, but there is equally nothing wrong with a horror movie that has a bit more to say alongside some solid scares.

Visually intriguing throughout, Weekes keeps things varied as we are shown scenes of the dangerous journey to the UK, scenes of Bol and Rial trying to integrate into a local community that doesn't seem to want them there, and scenes of the house becoming more creepy, lively, and damaged. Things may grow increasingly dark as the story unfolds, but even daylight does not guarantee safety. We see that in the sun-drenched scenes of a war-torn landscape, we see it as our leads encounter "neighbours", and there's no escape from a nightmare that could end lives in a couple of different ways, either by destroying the Majurs physically or resulting in them losing their status in the UK, which would lead to them being deported back to somewhere they would be much less likely to survive.

Dirisu and Mosaku are both excellent in their roles, believably earnest and worried about their futures, trying to work things out within an environment that places extra restrictions on their freedoms (as they wait in hope for a real freedom that will allow them to finally relax). The full story of their journey to the UK, revealed in flashback throughout the film, doesn't really change how well-placed they are as lead characters, because you've taken a liking to them from the earliest scenes, and you can consider how desperate anyone escaping their situation could be. Matt Smith gives great support in the role of Mark, the liaison officer who shows them to their new home and seems to hope for their success. There are other, no less important, characters who appear, but I'll leave you to discover those for yourself.

Loaded with poignancy and real consideration, and with a script that emphasises the language used to keep things officious at all times, even as people may be almost crying out for a more human, a more empathetic, approach to their situation, His House is one of the best films of the year, a timely one at that, and certainly the best horror movie.

9/10

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