Sinners Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Sinners Blu-ray Movie Review

From Dusk Till Damnation.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III July 10, 2025

Sinners is director Ryan Coogler's fifth film and a partial return to less mystical fare after the one-two punch of Black Panther and Wakanda Forever, yet it retains a certain otherworldly edge that will keep first-time viewers guessing as it dances between historical drama and supernatural horror. The time and setting may be new to Coogler but he's kept a perfect batting average of working with actor Michael B. Jordan, even doubling down this time around with a dual role: Smoke and Stack Moore, better known as "The Smokestack Twins" to just about about everyone in their hometown of Clarksdale and the surrounding Mississippi Delta. Returning from an extended stay in Chicago with more money than they can count, Smoke and Stack are trailed by an unnamed evil that will soon appear in its full form.

Sinners' story is simple on the surface but remains mostly intriguing as different layers are peeled back. It opens in media res as Sammie "Preacherboy" Moore arrives at a small church -- or is it? -- led by dad Jedidiah (Saul Williams). Sammie is bloody and battered; his near-death appearance shocks the joyful congregation and, soon enough, strange and disturbing visions flash before his eyes. Simply put, Sammie has clearly lived through something awful.

Most of Sinners takes place the day before October 16, 1932, when Sammie's cousins Smoke and Stack make their triumphant return to Clarksdale; apparently absent for several years, they're still regarded as local legends and now have enough cash and imported liquor to cement their reputations in the community. Their first order of business? To buy a sawmill from local KKK leader Hogwood (David Maldonado) and repurpose it as a juke joint, a job that they hope to complete in less than 12 hours. They'll need help, of course, so they recruit musical talent including gifted guitarist Sammie, piano player Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo), and sultry singer Pearline (Jayme Lawson). Sharecropper Cornbread (Omar Miller) reluctantly serves as their imposing doorman, and Chinese shopkeepers Grace and Bo Chow (Li Jun Li and Thomas "Yao" Pang) help out with supplies and signage. Perhaps the most important reunion of all is with Annie (Wunmi Mosaku), Smoke's former girlfriend who agrees to provide the cooking, but the couple's shared time alone together is partially weighed down by the lingering death of their infant daughter several years earlier.

Hints arrive early that trouble is brewing in the vicinity, what with the arrival of Irishman Remmick (Jack O'Connell), whose glowing red eyes suggest supernatural possession as he takes shelter with a Klan couple while on the run from Choctaw hunters. They'll soon converge on the juke joint hours after its grand opening, where locals pile in to spend their hard-earned money and have a place of their own for the hot and humid night. One very special guest is lovely Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), Stack's ex-girlfriend, who heightens some of the internal tension early on but eventually all of their trouble will come from outside: after Remmick and his new friends are turned away at the door despite having real cash to spend, Mary's approved attempt at coaxing them back turns the supernatural tide completely.

Sinners has trouble in the third act when the drastic genre shift feels permanent (it isn't) and, despite capturing an effective rhythm at crucial points and infusing the gory action scenes with grounded visual flair, the film loses some of its more interesting elements. It also struggles to wrap things up, tacking on an odd "morning after" coda and jarringly smash-cutting to a short moment exactly 60 years later -- featuring an admittedly great appearance by Chicago blues legend Buddy Guy, who's still active at 88 -- before expanding that brief second coda to an entire scene that interrupts the end credits. This feels like uncharacteristically sloppy work during an otherwise finely-crafted film, but there's so much to love about other parts of Sinners that it feels like something worth revisiting multiple times over.

Most directors might infuse a story like this with over-the-top melodrama and cheap jump scares, but Coogler -- who, as usual, wrote the screenplay -- keeps things refreshingly grounded at first and shows lots of restraint before Sinners abruptly loosens its grip in the third act. This contrast also extends to its visual presentation: tastefully shot on 65mm film by returning cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Sinners made use of an alternating aspect ratio that shifts between ultra-wide 2.76:1 and 1.43:1 as seen in select IMAX theaters; although the latter has been widened slightly to a screen-filling 1.78:1 aspect ratio on Warner Bros.' Blu-ray and 4K editions, this still manages to achieve an effective middle ground that boxes us in tightly before intermittently opening up to a dazzling degree, including an anachronistic but arresting musical performance halfway through and a climactic showdown where this otherwise jarring transition happens gradually. During these scenes and specific moments, your TV will likely never feel taller.

Visual prowess may be front and center on WB's separate format releases -- which are only paired together on an already hard-to-find 4K/Blu-ray Steelbook -- but the rich Dolby Atmos audio is also an inarguable five-star highlight, bolstering all the deep and unsettling weight of Sinners' supernatural elements as well as the outstanding featured blues songs and original score by Ludwig Göransson, who's produced recordings for the likes of Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Chance the Rapper, Justin Timberlake, Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, and many others. A slightly more substantial pile of extras would've cemented Sinners as one of the year's Top 10 discs, but it'll still probably make the cut.

Sinners Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As usual, please see my separate 4K review for a general overview of the film's visual aesthetic, portions of which are also mentioned briefly above in regards to its shifting 2.76:1 and 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Warner Bros.' 1080p/SDR Blu-ray transfer offers a solid substitute, one which obviously can't compete with the UHD in terms of raw image detail, shadow detail, and color impact but holds its own as a reliably good presentation of this visually ambitious production. Encoding seems decent enough on this dual-layered (50GB) disc, as the film runs at a smooth and supportive bit rate with zero major stumbling blocks but occasionally showing trace signs of macro blocking during tricker moments, such as those heavy with fog, smoke, or flames. Even so, this is absolutely nothing out of bounds for the format and, on small to medium-sized screens, it should look quite good and will please fans who haven't upgraded to 4K yet.

Sinners Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Dolby Atmos audio track is basically flawless and, like the film itself, really runs the gamut by sonically supporting everything from quiet, intimate moments to passionate music performances and, of course, the film's most intense and threatening supernatural moments. Channel separation and presence are extremely heavy and active when needed, providing an inarguable "you are there" experience especially during those numerous mid-film sequences inside the sweltering juke joint where, during one unforgettable instance, blistering vocals and thunderous crowd support during an expressive fever-dream of international music influences literally bring the house down. Simply put, Sinners' original score and soundtrack absolutely takes center stage at critical moments and propel some of the film's more emotional exchanges as well, and in every respect this Atmos mix proves up to the challenge. It'll likely be enjoyed at full volume so, unless you live in the middle of nowhere, you may want to apologize to your neighbors in advance.

Optional subtitles, including English (SDH), are included during the film and all extras listed below. One subjective personal complaint is that they sit higher on the screen than usual -- enough to stay within the 2.76:1 window, even. This seems excessively high as-is, but they stay at the same height during the 1.78:1 scenes as well.

Sinners Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with poster-themed cover artwork that's different than the 4K and looks much more deceptively action-oriented. No slipcover this time, but we get the same extras as the UHD.

• Dancing with the Devil: The Making of Sinners (32:29) - Quite a bit more honest and forthright than most behind-the-scenes featurettes, this mid-length piece finds writer/director Ryan Coogler in a reflective mood as he speaks about a close relationship with his uncle from Mississippi who passed in 2015 before Creed was released. From their shared love of blues music to renewed confidence in his identity, Coogler also shares how other parts of his formative life and career can also be seen in the characters and settings. Also featured are Coogler's wife and business partner Zinzi, production designer Hannah Beachler, cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw, and others, all of them flanked by a generous assortment of old and new photos and candid on-set footage.

• Blues in the Night: The Music of Sinners (13:47) - Coogler and composer Ludwig Göransson, as well as composer/producer Boo Mitchell and blues pioneer Buddy Guy (older Sammie), discuss their approach to the film's unique original soundtrack and song selection, which even included a trip to the Mississippi Delta.

• Thicker than Blood: Becoming the Smokestack Twins (10:47) - Coogler returns here because of course he does, but Michael B. Jordan takes center stage as he talks about the thrills and challenges of a dual role.

• Spirits in the Deep South (8:00) - Zinzi Coogler introduces Yvonne Chireau, a professor of religion and Black studies, who takes a shallow dive into the world of Hoodoo and how it figures into Sinners' story.

• The Wages of Sin: The Creature Effects of Sinners (10:53) - Another short but worthwhile piece, this featurette includes drawings, designs, and footage of oozing bites, gushing blood, and other vampiric delights with comments by prosthetic makeup designer Mike Fontaine and other members of the FX team.

• Deleted Scenes (7 clips, 18:32 total) - "Farmhouse Dinner", "Juke Building Montage", "Sammie and Slim Talk at Piano", "Slim Plays 'My Preachin'", "Mary and Annie Talk About Gumbo", "Joan Watches Cornbread", and "Jed Sermon and Steal Away", presented in 1080p with shifting aspect ratios and Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

Sinners Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ryan Coogler's Sinners is a personal film for the director, but it's only half of an intimate one. Curiously mixing period drama and supernatural horror tied together by unforgettable music (which the director admits was partially inspired by Delta blues legend Howlin' Wolf and his raucous song "Wang Dang Doodle"), it takes a lot of risks and several of them pay off handsomely. The ones that don't keep it from certified "instant classic" territory, but there's so much to love and admire here that multiple viewings may smooth over some of Sinners' potentially rough edges. Warner Bros.' separate Blu-ray, 4K, and of course the preferred Steelbook combo pack editions give fans plenty of options, but either format serves up outstanding A/V merits and a thoughtful collection of bonus features. Highly Recommended.