In cinema’s current state, the call for original cinematic work, not tethered to pre-existing Intellectual Property (IP), is needed more than ever before. Ryan Coogler’ “Sinners” (2025), exemplifies the potential of original filmmaking to expand Hollywood’s stale, risk-averse state of mind.
Set in Clarksdale, Mississippi during the 1930s, the film incorporates the southern aesthetics many audience members will be familiar with of the time, with harsh, gothic, vampire horror. By also including a depiction of blues musicality and its rising popularity during the time, Ryan Coogler creates the perfect sandbox to delve into the film’s most notable themes of cultural and spiritual legacy.
In an era of film dominated by remakes, reboots, adaptations, and sequels, “Sinners” (2025) acts as a significant breath of fresh air in Hollywood’s narrative economy. Working as Coogler’s first feature film not based on historical events (Fruitvale Station) or existing intellectual property (Black Panther, Creed), the film–created with a budget estimated to be around $90 million, shows off an investment rarely seen by Hollywood studios anymore.
“Sinners” follows brothers Smoke and Stack, twins simultaneously being played by Michael B. Jordan, as they open up a juke joint after returning from their illegal escapades in Chicago. “Sinners” utilizes a structure not normally seen in IP-oriented films. The opening act sets up the socio-historical context of Mississippi during the 1930s, establishing the brothers as veterans and “former” gangsters, along with their cousin Sammie as a talented blues musician in the making. The following act introduces the film’s supernatural threats posed by Remmick, a musically talented Irishman and his vampire clan, with the final act revolving around a beautifully set up pay-off through unexpected confrontations.
Around halfway through the film, I had feared the vampiric elements of the picture would tear the meticulously crafted film apart. Fortunately, Coogler’s genre hybridity–melding gothic, Western, ganger drama, musical, and horror––functions in complete service of the “Sinners” betterment.
Unlike IP-driven films of the present day that stick to established genre conventions, I “Sinners” uses its electric form to mirror the fluidity of many forms of spiritual and cultural expression. The vampires, for example, work as a metaphor for cultural predation, with their promise of equality being a critique on real historical patterns of appropriation.
“Sinners” (2025) is an innovative and thematically important work that highlights the cultural imperative of original filmmaking. It truly is a profoundly engaging work, with its rewatchability making it another landmark in Coogler’s directorial discography.
Through its genre hybridity, deep dives into culture, music, and spirituality, the film challenges Hollywood’s IP-driven state of mind. Its current critical and commercial success gives hope for a more diversified cinematic climate, with the potential of underrepresented forms of narrative being amplified, and audience engagement rising.
