Darkmeter 9.25 🖤

I saw Sinners six times in theaters, with six different groups of people, because I was dying for them to see it, I recommended it over and over... and still didn't write about it. Why? Because writing about a film capable of modernizing a genre while at the same time respecting the classics is complicated, because when something is so good that it borders on perfection, words seem insufficient. And although some people rejected my invitation when it was in theaters, I'm very glad that after its 16 Oscar nominations people gave themselves the opportunity to see it. If you're one of those who still isn't convinced, please, take the time, you're going to love it, even if you're not a fan of the genre or you think it's just another action and horror film on the market.

Because this film, this "simple horror film," was nominated for an Oscar in 16 different categories, it's practically fighting for everything, breaking the historical record. And it's not by coincidence, it's not by agenda, it's not because there weren't films as good, but because it deserves each and every one of those nominations.

16 Nominations And A New Record

Produced by Proximity Media, a studio that although few people know it hasn't been in the industry for long and has focused on giving stories with African Americans as protagonists, but not by an agenda to fulfill, but to demonstrate the absolute talent they have. From Judas and the Black Messiah to Creed III, now comes Sinners starring Michael B. Jordan, each demonstrating that true inclusion is not changing existing stories, is not changing races in already written characters, it's creating your own scripts and your own stories and making them legendary, not by skin color, but by narrative, staging, and masterful performances.

And like the other films from this production company, we face the most important thing: who are the monsters? Those who lurk in the darkness and are driven away by holy water? Or those who walk by your side day by day with an internal hatred that, although visible, is no less dangerous?

Just Complexity, Glorious Simplicity

Today we have faced quite good cinema, but that has truly lost the essence of what art means. Art is made to express, entertain, and cause emotions. Sure, from time to time delving into life itself is necessary, but complicating it for oneself and the viewer is not. The twist of the twist of the twist of the other plot twist, combined with the hidden scene of the previous hidden reference, make watching a film tedious many times, make a saga useless, and make the audience prefer to simply ignore what's happening.

With Sinners it's not like that. It has enough complexity so that in the first half of the film you can draw your theories without getting too tied down, and it has enough simplicity so that in the second half you can enjoy a glorious outcome. This is quite refreshing not only for horror cinema, but for the entire Hollywood industry and its need to do things wrong lately in almost any production.

Music As The Central Soul

And from there we focus on the heart of the film: music. Yes, gentlemen, music. Rarely have I seen the masterful art of combining different arts into something so marvelous that fits perfectly. While it's known to all that the best films in history are accompanied by a great soundtrack, it's rare when music becomes the central soul of that film.

And let's simply base it on the trailer, which actually told the truth: "There are legends of people with the gift of making music so real, it can pierce the veil between life and death, conjuring spirits from the past and the future."

And that becomes so real. Throughout the film, the epicenter of what happened, is happening, and will happen with the characters is the music itself, but not just as an audio that accompanies, but as another character. It lets us see the emotions, the events, and the ideas that each scene wants to transmit, the lyrics, the rhythm, the tempo, everything is linked to what's happening on screen, and it's marvelous. There's no moment in the film when your ear isn't enjoying what's happening.

Respect For Classic Horror

Following this, let's talk about respect for horror films. Classic horror suffered a lot for several decades, being relegated by horrible jumpscare-dependent horror, where there are even entire generations of young people who believe that horror is just that: a monster coming out of the darkness every five minutes to scare you out of nowhere. And it's not like that.

Classic horror, the one that is built with ideas, with sentences, with possible realities that we face every day, that horror had an excellent year in 2025, and it all started with Sinners, only to be followed by Weapons and It: Welcome to Derry, where it's understood that horror is not necessarily gore, jumpscares, or events so supernatural that they can't exist in our world, but rather they understand that terrors are more human, more basic: fear of fire, fear of rejection, fear of human evil.

All of that is necessary to know that it's here, and it's so beautifully presented that you empathize not only with the protagonists, but with all the secondary characters, and in fact you're even enchanted, like with the Pied Piper's flute, attracted to evil without knowing you're being attracted.

Two Twins, One Masterful Performance

And this is where we're going to talk about three actors, although I'd like to talk about all of them, but it would be too long a review.

First, Michael B. Jordan. This young man who for more than a decade has come to demonstrate to the industry that it's not a lack of acting many times for African Americans, but a lack of direction and script, because he chooses his projects very carefully, and once he's involved in one, success is guaranteed. And I'm not talking about box office, I'm talking about the most important one: the success of knowing that what you did was good, was a good product, something that can pass into the timeless memory of excellence.

In this film he plays two characters, twins, so equal to each other and at the same time so different, each with a shared personality of having grown up and lived with the same things, but at the same time with a character forged by different experiences and realities derived from their life decisions. Although there is visual help to understand who is who, his performance is so good that you don't need it. He does just enough not to fall into overacting (like a certain Chalamet playing ping pong), but at the same time enough to differentiate by a simple eyebrow gesture. He carries the emotions from beginning to end, expressing each one with looks and gestures without needing to shout them. It's beautiful.

The Mind Behind The Revolution

Now let's talk about Hailee Steinfeld. Well, what more can be said about her? Young, beautiful, and amazing, will say the Hollywood magazine headlines, which are the only thing they always highlight about actresses. But no, friends, she IS the reason the story continues. You can have a good villain, you can have a good hero, but god, if the mind behind the ideas and the ideological revolution doesn't exist, you often fall into the generic.

She simply came to give a masterclass on what it is to act as a young woman from a different era, but at the same time you can relate to her in modernity. She came to give us passion and development without needing to force it, without feeling that it's something that was imposed. There's a past, there's a present, and the yearning for a future in her eyes, in her voice rhythms, and even in her small smiles.

The Rational Monster

And finally we come to the cherry on top, with Jack O'Connell as Remmick, the powerful monster that stalks our protagonists at night, a demon who crossed the threshold of death to bring "peace" and a future from which we cannot escape. But there's something different about him: he's rational, he's convincing, he's intelligent. He doesn't use force, he uses your fear and uses your empathy to get to you.

If you've seen K-pop Demon Hunters, you'll understand this feeling, because just as "Your Idol" had us mesmerized in front of the screen, Remmick did it a whole film before them. No major context is needed, they tell you who he is, what his presence means, and what his objective is. You can infer the why, but the film understands that what's important is now, and that the monsters that lurk in the darkness don't differentiate: for them we are all a feast, we are what arouses their curiosity, and in the end control and order are lurking before chaos and destruction.

What would we do to survive? If we were monsters who have no one to be with, would we really be monsters? Or would we simply fall into the most basic of human actions to be able to get people like us?

The Era, The Problems, The World That Doesn't Stop

Within all the horror of the film there's something very important: the era is respected, the ideas, the social problems, the quarrels, everything is there. As a third plane you see a world that advances beyond what they tell you, you see evolution in everything, from the earth to the sky, the world doesn't stop, it only reminds you that you're here for a brief moment, and that those moments are what count.

How far would you go if your life has long since stopped making sense? What keeps the monsters at bay? Is it the sun? Or is it the light you radiate by your own conviction to stay alive and to want to live?

Conquering Hollywood With Good Cinema

The direction of Ryan Coogler makes something clear again: he came not only to represent African American people, he came to revolutionize and conquer Hollywood, he came to say "I want to make good cinema, no matter what others say." And it's that his casting, his direction, the scripts he works on, the choreographers and the musicians, all together form a masterpiece that invites you to see the world, see a new dawn, and want to face your fears and your monsters, not because that will improve the world, but because that will improve your own world.

Life resonates with music, because each new breath is the music of life.