Kudos to Warner Bros. Pictures. They have hit all the right notes in promoting their latest big release, “Sinners”. Now for many of us, the reteaming of writer-director Ryan Coogler and actor Michael B. Jordan was the only selling point we needed. But the studio made their latest collaboration even more enticing with a pair of killer trailers and a series of brilliant posters. Best of all, “Sinners” absolutely delivers, often in ways I never expected.

What makes “Sinners” even more appetizing (especially for genre fans like me) is the crazy way it mixes the arthouse with the grindhouse. It’s a richly imagined movie dripping with cultural flavor and possessing a keen sense of time and place. It’s also a movie with a lot on its mind, using fairly obvious metaphors to make some equally obvious points. At the same time, “Sinners” turns into a blood-bathed vampire movie reminiscent of Robert Rodriguez’s “From Dusk till Dawn”.

Many will be surprised by how much time Coogler puts into building up his story and his characters. Well over half of the movie focuses on introducing characters, defining relationships, and immersing us in the vibrant period setting. By far this is when the movie is at its strongest. It’s a much different story for the inevitable payoff. The final siege is fittingly bloody and chaotic. But it’s also rushed – at times frantically edited and lacking logic in spots.

Set in Jim Crow-era 1932, the story takes place over the course of an eventful 24 hours in the rural town of Clarksville, Mississippi. Jordan mesmerizes with his dual lead performances. He plays Smoke and Stack, identical twin brothers who return to their hometown after some time in Chicago where they hustled, ran prostitution rings, and killed for mob boss Al Capone. With a pocket full of cash, Smoke and Stack buy an old mill from a shady businessman believed by some to have ties with the Ku Klux Klan. The brothers plan on turning the mill into a blues-centered juke joint, custom-made for the local black community.

The twins waste no time getting ready for their big opening night, hiring several local friends to chip in. They get food and a sign from a Chinese couple who owns a local grocery store, Grace and Bo Chow (played by Li Jun Li and Yao). Smoke convinces his estranged wife Annie (Wunmi Mosaku) to cook. They hire the brawny Cornbread (Omar Benson Miller) to man the door. Aged blues musician Delta Slim agrees to handle the music. And they bring along their young cousin Sammie (Miles Caton), a talented guitar player who dreams of becoming a blues singer despite the wishes of his preacher father.

As the joint opens and the raucous party gets underway, a few more key characters enter the mix. Namely the sultry Pearline (Jayme Lawson), a married woman who Sammie is instantly attracted to, and Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), a white woman who has a special relationship with Stack. Coogler infuses the club scenes with a raw yet infectious energy, oscillating between harmonious to hedonistic. The music soon becomes the centerpiece and it remains a key piece of the story throughout.

But the night takes a turn with the appearance of Remmick (Jack O’Connell), a smooth-talking Irish immigrant who says he was drawn to their shindig by Sammie’s hypnotic singing. In reality, Remmick is hiding a vicious secret. He and his two companions are actually vampires and he desperately wants inside to join the party. But if you’re remotely familiar with vampire movies, you know the rules. A bloodsucker can’t enter unless they’re invited. And that sets up a cultural/supernatural standoff that really ramps up the tension.

From the very start, it’s hard not to be absorbed in the period Coogler recreates. The locations, production design, costumes – it all feeds the movie’s striking authenticity. It’s all captured through Autumn Durald Arkapaw’s alluring lensing and surrounded by the scintillating music from Oscar-winning composer Ludwig Göransson. And everything is enhanced by the performances from a truly superb ensemble. It all begins and ends with Jordan who brings distinct intensity and personality to both Smoke and Stack.

But it’s Coogler’s uninhibited style and craftsmanship that makes “Sinners” a soulful, sumptuous, sexy, and sinister experience all its own. His story is rich and layered while his characters are fully formed and often complex with most living up to the film’s title. Yet while Coogler’s statements on America’s history are clear and insightful, some of his other points remain hazier and less impactful. Still, “Sinners” shows why Ryan Coogler is such an important filmmaker. And it once again shows the kind of magic he can muster whenever he connects with Michael B. Jordan.”Sinners” is in theaters now.

VERDICT – 4 STARS