Before I begin this introspection on the Warner Bros film Sinners, I want to give credit to Black Girl Nerds journalist and author Sezin Devi Koehler who has written a number of editorials on this site coining the term “white devilry” which fits perfectly with the narrative for this essay. After leaving the film Sinners, my head was filled with so many thoughts surrounding the film’s themes. As I tried to unpack the context of what Ryan Coogler was communicating to us, I decided to express in my own words what I think Sinners is actually about.
These are my own thoughts. My own opinions. And you are more than welcome to agree or disagree with this take. It’s simply my own summation of what I personally received when experiencing this narrative and what I believe it was trying to convey to me. Before I proceed with this essay, there are major spoilers for the movie Sinners. So if you have not seen the film, please stop reading. I do not want to ruin your experience with the details shared here, so proceed with caution before reading any further.
In the 2025 film Sinners, which you can read our review here, two twin brothers living in 1932 Clarksdale, Mississippi, by the name of Elijah “Smoke” and Elias “Stack” (both portrayed by Michael B. Jordan) return from World War I and Chicago’s criminal underworld to open a juke joint. Their aspirations are soon disrupted by vampiric forces. There are themes within this film that immediately struck me, so let’s cover those themes and how they intersect with white devilry.
Spirituality, Religion and Morality
The title alone evokes a sense of imagery and even shame, particularly when it comes to Christian notions of morality, redemption and judgement. There is cultural faith, tradition and community that Ryan Coogler gingerly weaves into this story. From Sammie “Preacher Boy” Moore (Miles Caton) and his relationship with his father Jedidiah (Saul Williams) to the Hoodoo spiritualist Annie (Wunmi Mosaku). You can even argue that the struggle Elijah and Elias have with their faith play thematically here.
But where does white devilry come in? Jedidiah gave us a clue at the beginning of the film when he warned Sammie inside of his church. “You keep dancing with the devil…one day he’s gonna follow you home.” Jedidiah didn’t have a white man in mind when he said this, but inevitably, Sammie gallivanting around with the twins at their juke joint led to him coming face-to-face with white devilry.
And while there are some thoughts about “blues being the devil’s music” and its easy to make that connection, I think it’s a bit deeper than that.
Destruction of Black Business, Cultural Appropriation as Vampirism and White Privilege
It shouldn’t be lost on any of us watching Sinners that this film was very intentional. This was more than a horror film — it was a message. Remmick (Jack O’Connell) is the white devil that literally falls into frame when he enters the scene with burning flesh since the sun is still out, and meets a white couple who are KKK members. The Devil makes a deal with the couple who invites them into their home (because as you know a vampire always has to ask to be invited to a person’s private property). Once the white devil attacks and forms his new legion of vamps they’re ready to prey on the only Black juke joint in town. The pale white demonic figures are ready to unleash their wrath on this town’s Black residents.
We do learn through an incredible plot twist, that the juke joint was owned by the KKK all along and was set up as a trap to have every attendee there killed. The twins wanted to open a juke joint only for it to be destroyed by these white vampires. The destruction of Black entrepreneurship. You can easily draw this parallel to the destruction of Black business from white supremacists during the 1921 Tulsa race massacre. Then there is cultural appropriation. The fact that the idea of a vampire in and of itself is a metaphor for how historically white people have appropriated Black culture is kind of genius. The act of sucking the life and livelihood of our culture, music, our trends, and our ways for their own profit and gain. I think of the days of Elvis Presley taking credit for music from Black artists. Vampires literally suck the blood of its victims and steal their livelihoods. Meanwhile the victim becomes a shell of their former selves.
And then sometimes it be your own people.
Kinda?
There’s the character of Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), and this could be an even more complicated deep dive that I’m not ready to unpack here yet. Mary, who is multiracial, her grandfather being half-Black, gave her a “pass” to mix and mingle with the Clarksdale locals. And although she could easily pass for white, she chose to stick to her Black roots. What’s interesting is the creative choice to have Mary become the first victim of Remmick. Remmick has had all white victims in the narrative so far, his first (aside from the white couple) is Mary.
She is not attacked, kidnapped, nor held against her will. She simply greets the vampire trio, who she seemingly sees as friendly folk. And she becomes prey. I don’t quite know what to make of why Mary is the first victim and what the meaning is there, but perhaps even though she is someone who has Black ancestry, at the end of the day, she will never endure the same kind of treatment her fellow Black colleagues will from local Klansmen. Her white privilege will always allow her to evade a dangerous situation.
Music as Power and Resistance
Ryan Coogler spoke to BGN about the music in this film and it definitely felt like a supporting character throughout the movie’s narrative. However, one of the major themes here that struck me was how we as Black people historically use the power of music as a form of resistance and as a tool of agency in times of strife, struggle and within sacred spaces. Black culture thrives in the juke joint. The music represents history, trauma, joy, and resilience passed down through generations. A beautiful scene Coogler orchestrates and illustrates beautifully; is how music over the decades is used as a form of protest, a form of resilience and that it is the soul of our history. We see music depicted from different cultures both Black and Asian. This powerful scene is one that will be talked about for years. It’s truly spectacular.
There are Asian characters in this narrative too and they also have their own marginalized experiences albeit quite different from ours, they still have working class struggles and challenges and white devilry/Remmick sees them as prey just as much as he does the Black townspeople.
Remmick wants Sammie. Ultimately, he is the main target because Sammie has the gift and talent of music. It’s literally in his soul and that’s exactly what he wants. He wants that power and he wants Sammie in hell with him. White devilry wants to own the music maker. Once the music is gone, there’s nothing left to dance to, rejoice for, nor swing your hips to. Take away the Black joy and the white devilry mission is accomplished.
Final Thoughts
What I’ve come to learn and understand here about Sinners is that this film is an examination of white devilry in its most literal form. No need to be vague here, the writing is on the 70mm screen. And while you’re watching this history lesson unfold, you can also check out these vampires and listen to some cool blues music to keep you stimulated.
Sinners is currently playing in theaters everywhere.
