Greetings, and welcome back to October Horror Fest! Guys, can you believe that we are only two days away? Honestly, it’s getting me quite emotional. Just today, while sitting downstairs with my lights off and coffee doing quite a fine job of keeping me up, I honestly just began to think about how lucky I was (and still am), to be able to make this series for you all. Spreading something like horror, which is something I absolutely love, makes me one of the happiest writers in the world. Thank you all, truly. BUT, with keeping most of my sentimental stuff for Halloween, I want you guys to get ready to come along with me, and review one of the most HYPED horror movies of recent years, and one of the best of recent years. This movie took the world by storm, and I can’t believe that I didn’t go see it in theaters (I’m going to be regretting that one for a long time). As I sit here and write, with me just finishing the film, I honestly think that it deserves all the hype and praise it got, and you guys just buckle up, because you’ll see for yourselves. (Also, I hope you all enjoyed It last night! Also, I can’t believe this is one of my final times writing this intro out for you all). Without further ado, sit back, relax, turn off the lights, grab some Candy and Popcorn, and let’s review…

Sinners

Our tale starts at the end, believe it or not! A battered, broken young man comes into his father’s church, and begins to be berated by his father, who is a pastor. The young man holds a broken guitar in his hand, but no matter how many times the father tells his son to put the guitar down in the name of the lord himself, he does not. In our opening credits, we hear stories of talented people who are able to summon spirits from the past and the future with their music. However, these musicians must be weary, for their skills often attract evil as well…

Our tale ACTUALLY now begins in 1932, as we see the title card for “one day earlier”. We are in the small town of Clarksdale, Mississippi. We meet our main men in this story, played by the INCREDIBLY talented Michael B. Jordan. Yes, I said MEN. Somehow, MBJ is able to play two different characters at the same time, with some incredible acting prowess and technical effects. Our identical twin WW1 veterans are Elijah “Smoke” and Elias “Stack” Moore, but I’ll be referring to them as Smoke and Stack, aka the Smokestack twins. Our boys have just returned to the town after SEVEN YEARS of working for the mob in Chicago, and are now filthy rich after stealing money from Chicago gangsters. Using their newfound fortune, the Smokestack twins buy a sawmill in town to convert into a local “juke joint” for the black community, somewhere where all blacks can thrive and be free (remember, this is the 1930s in Mississippi, conditions aren’t great to say the LEAST). The landowner they purchase the land from is a white man named Hogwood, who they immediately think is part of the KKK. He (unconvincingly) says that the Klan doesn’t exist anymore, but the brothers aren’t buying it. After this, the brothers split, after telling the other that they love him. Smoke goes to his wife’s house, (who he hasn’t seen in seven years), and Stack goes into town to recruit folks for the juke, AND to pick up his cousin Sammie. This man seems VERY familiar, as he was the SAME GUY FROM THE OPENING CREDITS. He is, of course, an aspiring blues guitarist, but his father believes that blues is the “devil’s music”, and tells him to stay away from it. In an amazing quote, he says this. “You keep dancing with the devil… one day he’s gonna follow you home.” But, our boy Sammie goes where he pleases, and where the wind takes him. On the drive into town, Sammie plays a song on his guitar (which the brothers bought for him, saying it was the legendary Charley Patton’s own guitar that they won), and Stack LOVES IT, immediately making Sammie their main event for the evening.

Sammie’s musical prowess is SO extreme that he reminds me of Robert Johnson, a man so good at playing the guitar and the blues that people believed he sold his soul to the devil to get his talent. Something about this film that I LOVE is that it incorporates EVERYTHING, from American Folklore to horror (which we will see very very soon). In town, Stack goes down the list, recruiting everyone he can. He starts with Delta Slim, an old man who knows his way through music, and is an old friend. (He is also drunk like all the time). (By the way, Stack is paying VERY well for all of these people). He heads over to the store, where he recruits local Chinese shopkeepers Grace and Bo Chow (a couple) as suppliers, who are also old friends. The twins are legends in the town, and even though they definitely have a turbulent (at best) reputation, they are respected, and known by all. Finally, Stack is able to recruit Cornbread, a field worker, to be their bouncer. Over with Smoke, he is able to recruit his wife Annie to be their cook, (this happens after Smoke drops flowers at a mysterious unmarked grave). Annie and Smoke, of course, get it going IN THE KITCHEN (I really don’t even have to say it at this point, but #1 rule of Horror Fest). Annie talks to her husband, saying how she believes her hoodoo (spiritual practices) kept the twins safe in Chicago. However, Smoke doubts this, for one reason. Remember that unmarked grave? That was the grave of Smoke and Annie’s infant daughter, who tragically died. They didn’t keep her safe. Back over at town, we get one of the funniest scenes in the entire movie, where Stack runs into his ex-girlfriend Mary (played by the amazing Hailee Steinfeld). Mary is mixed race, and although she appears white to everyone, she is born and raised in the black community, which Stack knows better than anyone. Mary is INFURIATED at Stack for leaving her behind, without ever giving a reason. However, our boys have who they need, and the juke can prepare for opening night. 

However, across town, we see the beginning of trouble. BIG, BIG trouble. A man who seems to have horrific fire damage to his body bangs on the door of a cabin, only to be greeted by an armed couple. They let him inside, only for a gang of Choctaw Indians to appear at the house. The wife doesn’t let them in, but they say that the man is not what he seems, and they bless her with good luck. Let me just say one thing right now, those men are vampire hunters. HERE. WE. GO. The wife walks back into the house, only to see her husband on the floor, blood pooling everywhere. He then proceeds to STAND UP, his eyes flashing silver. The wife screams, as the vampire, an irish-immigrant named Remmick, shushes her.

IT’S OPENING NIGHT BABY! A few hours have passed, and the juke is all ready to go (yes, this entire movie, besides the ending (we’ll get to it), takes place within one day. Sammie, Delta Slim, and Pearline (Pearline is a MARRIED singer, but she took an interest in Sammie in town, and he became infatuated with her literally in a matter of seconds) ALL show up to the juke, ready to perform. Once it’s Sammie’s turn to perform, we get one of the most incredible scenes I think in the history of cinema. I’m not even joking. This scene is called either “Sinners time travel scene” or “I lied to you song” on YouTube, but if you guys can, or if you want to check out the full movie, PLEASE experience this scene for yourself. Sammie begins to play, as a voiceover reiterates what we heard in the beginning of the film. Some people, with their musical gifts, are able to summon spirits from the past, and the future. Sammie’s blues become ethereal and transcendent, as we LITERALLY SEE musicians from all time periods joining Sammie and the rest of the partiers in the juke, with their presence completely unknown to anyone else. In a five minute LONG SHOT, the aspect ratio switches from Ultra Panavision (widescreen) to IMAX 70mm, (taller screen). Both of these aspect ratios are VERY rare, but to have BOTH of them in the same movie being SWITCHED BETWEEN is absolutely unheard of. After the absolutely beautiful scene of music connecting spirits from all times and places, the trouble begins. Remmick hears Sammie’s voice, and wants him. He appears with his turned couple (vampires), and walks to the door. However, just like vampire mythos, the vampires need to be let in willingly in order to attack. 

Remmick and his vampires begin to play music outside, saying that they should be let in. However, Smoke, wise, suspicious (and cold) as always, denies the vampire’s entry. Upstairs, however, the situation is going from bad to worse. The twins realize that the patrons of the juke only have money through company scrib (a sort of money only used by companies, common back then but really doesn’t have monetary value), and that the joint is almost impossible to keep afloat. Downstairs, just a few minutes ago (this comes up in a second so this is important), Mary enters the Juke, and has a heart to heart with Stack. Stack reveals that he loves her, and he left her so that he could protect her. Protect her from the town, and protect her from himself. He KNEW that if Mary was with him, she would never be safe. Now, we’re back upstairs where we were, where Mary (see I told you it was important) is talking and trying to reason with Stack. She knows he doesn’t want anything to do with the people outside, but she says that she will go talk to them (she’s half white), and try to get money out of them. Mary, of course, carries a gun (she’s pretty awesome). Mary goes outside and meets Remmick and the other vampires, where she gets gold trinkets (this man must be OLD). However, when his eyes glow red and his mouth waters with drool, Mary tries to get out of there as quickly as possible. However, in a scene that had me viscerally terrified, Mary walks away, and as we can see behind her due to the camera’s position, we see Remmick STAND UP, and almost levitate like an evil Superman, getting ready to jump onto poor Mary.

Back at the door to the juke, Mary asks to be let in, and Cornbread does just that, not knowing what she truly is. She gets inside, and is able to corner Stack in a room, getting down to it IMMEDIATELY (Rule #1). However, when Sammie and Smoke go to get Stack, instead of seeing what Sammie just saw and walked out on, they see Stack with blood ALL AROUND him, and Mary with blood running from her mouth all the way down her dress (Rule #1 never fails). Smoke turns on badass mode (he will be like this for the rest of the movie and it only gets progressively cooler), and takes out TWO PISTOLS, firing them both at Mary. She gets LIT UP, but is able to run away, her eyes silver. As Smoke sits with his dead brother, (SUCH a sad scene it’s hard for me to even talk about it), Cornbread goes out to use the bathroom, leaving Delta Slim on guard duty. However, of course, when Cornbread is out there, he is turned by Remmick.

Things can’t get worse from here, right? WRONG. SO, SO WRONG. Stack obviously shuts down the juke for the night, and Delta Slim gets everyone to leave. However, outside, Remmick and his vampires are able to turn EVERY SINGLE ONE into a vampire, including Bo Chow. While our heroes have NO IDEA about this just yet, a turned Stack rises from his “grave”, and BUSTS OPEN THE DOOR to the closet he was locked in, and gets ready to attack. HOWEVER, ANNIE, smart as always, hits Stack with pickled garlic juice. The garlic hits Stack, making him run out into the night. Annie then puts her brain to the test, and gets all the information out on the table. The assailants are, obviously, vampires. However, we’ve got Annie on the living side, and she is AMAZING. She begins going through ways she is familiar with from stories and folklore on how to kill vampires, such as the classic wooden stake through the heart and garlic. She does, though, horribly have to say that killing Remmick will NOT make the other vampires revert back to the way they were. Annie says it best. She says that being transformed into a vampire is one of the most horrific fates out there, because the soul is still trapped in the body. Remmick and the vampires share a powerful hive mind (VERY VERY important), but, like Annie said, their personalities are still different and still intact. Annie makes Smoke PROMISE that if she is turned, to put her out of her situation and free her immediately.

In one of the most intense scenes in the film, Remmick drops all acts, and walks back up to the door, with the survivors seeing all of their loved ones (Bo Chow, Stack, Cornbread, Mary) turned into vampires. (The survivors consist of Grace, Smoke, Annie, Delta Slim, Pearline, and of course, Sammie). Remmick negotiates with the survivors, saying that becoming a vampire allows for immortality AND freedom from persecution. The vampiric Mary and Stack both enter in on the conversation, trying their best to convince them to join. He then says that he WILL leave, if the survivors give Sammie to him. He knows Sammie’s voice and talents and what was achieved at the juke that night are beautiful, and he wants to use his musical skills to summon the spirits of his lost community. Sammie goes to TURN HIMSELF IN to Remmick, but is stopped by Smoke, not willing to sacrifice his cousin. Remmick then reveals that the original couple were related to Hogwood (the realtor from the beginning), who is, get this, IN CHARGE OF THE LOCAL KKK. He is a ruthless, horrific person, and he is already planning to attack the juke at dawn. Of course, the survivors back off from everything the vampires are saying, but it becomes too much for Grace when her vampiric former husband and Remmick threaten to attack her daughter, Lisa, at their home.

After one of the most intense scenes in the film, where the survivors all argue over their next move, Grace, on the verge of losing it, SCREAMS at the vampires, telling them to come in. The aspect ratio IMMEDIATELY switches into IMAX (god this is so cool), as the survivors frantically prepare for battle. And, they don’t have to wait long. Our film reaches its climax as ALL the vampires converge on the juke. Grace goes down while stabbing a wood stake through her husband’s heart, burning alive with him (YUP). Annie then goes down next, and in a HEARTBREAKING moment (I almost cried), Smoke is forced to stab a stake through his wife’s heart, setting her free. Delta Slim, causing a distraction while the rest of the survivors run upstairs, is the final brave soul to go. While the fight is going on, Mary is able to escape, and SADLY, UPSTAIRS, Pearline is turned by Remmick. (This entire scene is so amazing by the way. You know how I said smoke was a badass? This man was shooting and stabbing with wooden stakes at the SAME TIME, you guys NEED to watch this movie). Sammie JUMPS OUT the window in the upstairs, trying to run to the lake as fast as he can. BUT, Remmick is there, causing Sammie and his guitar to fall. Sammie begins to pray the “our father” prayer, and COMPLETELY unexpected, all of the vampires join in on it. Remmick talks a bit about his backstory, while slicing Sammie’s face with his three claws. He says how his own family and community in Ireland was destroyed, and the men who destroyed it were saying “our father”. Even though he HATES those men, the words still bring him comfort. 

Back upstairs, in one of the most amazing scenes in the film (there’s a lot of these), Smoke and Stack engage in a brawl, with Smoke eventually getting the upper hand. While preparing to stab Stack through the heart with the wooden stake, Smoke apologizes for not being able to protect his brother. However, Stack’s humanity shines through, and he says not to apologize, because Smoke always did protect him. Outside, Sammie grabs his guitar, and SLAMS IT into Remmick’s head, the metal plate on the guitar literally going INTO HIS HEAD. All of the vampires scream out in pain (hivemind), and just as Remmick gets ready to kill Sammie, SMOKE APPEARS, stabbing him with the stake. Just as this happens, the sun FINALLY rises. It is beautiful. ALL of the vampires begin to burn, and Remmick vanishes in a burst of fire. Back on land next to the Juke, Smoke says his final words to his cousin. He tells him that Stack lied about the guitar, and it actually belonged to their abusive father. He says to bury it. He hugs Sammie, and sends him home, telling him to “be strong”. Sammie drives to the church (just like we saw in the beginning), as Hogwood and his Klan men arrive. Smoke sits on the beach, and in a beautiful scene, we see flashbacks to all of the memories Smoke has about the Juke, and his family. He tears off the necklace Annie gave him, and grabs a key, opening up a trunk containing all of his gear from World War One. Oh. Yes.

As we see Sammie entering the church in one scene, and holding onto the broken guitar for dear life while his father orders him in the name of God to put it down, we see Smoke emerging OUT OF THE FOREST and shooting at all of the Klan men. He drops his weapon, PICKING UP A DRUM GUN, and continues the slaughter, honoring his promise to Hogwood that he made all the way back in the beginning. “If you or any of your Klan come onto our property, we will slaughter them all”. He even uses a GRENADE to blow up a car, but not before getting fatally shot. As he sits on the beach, smoking a cigarette, he looks to his side, and sees Annie. She is dressed in white, and holding their baby daughter. She tells Elijah to put out the cigarette before holding his daughter, as she doesn’t want any “Smoke” near the baby. Smoke, before he can pass on, sees that Hogwood is still alive, and LIGHTS HIM UP. He finally picks up his daughter, saying his final words before passing on. “Papa’s here”.

Back in church, the bloodied Sammie still holds onto his guitar, as we cut to him driving down the street, clutching his guitar for dear life. As our credits begin to roll, we see an elderly Sammie, still with the same scar on his cheek from Remmick, as we see another title card. “Chicago, Illinois. October 16, 1992”. It has been sixty years. Sammie plays at his blues club, named “Pearline’s”. He plays on an electric guitar, as he became a truly accomplished, respected, and successful blues musician.

However, that isn’t all. As Sammie sits in his bar having a drink, MARY AND STACK walk in. They are dressed in 90s clothes, still looking the exact same they did in 1932. We hear Annie’s words, as Vampires need to be killed one by one, and they live on even if the one who created them is killed. Their eyes glow a faint silver. Uneasy music grows, as Sammie asks one question. “How?”. And Stack tells him. Stack was the only one that Smoke couldn’t kill. He spared Stack, but he made Stack PROMISE to stay away from Sammie, and let him live his life. Stack smells Sammie, and says that he doesn’t have much time left on this Earth. Of course, Stack offers to turn Sammie immortal. Sammie, however, declines. Saying he’s seen enough of the planet. Stack says that he and Mary got all of his records, and he doesn’t like the electric guitar as much as the real thing. Stack asks if Sammie still has the real in him. We see a guitar case open, and inside, is Sammie’s original guitar. (I don’t know if it’s the same one, but I really like to think it is, just repaired.) Sammie begins to play the same song he played for Stack all those years back, as we see a flashback. Stack sits, holding Mary close, as they smile. Stack gives Sammie money, and hugs him. Mary says “Take Care, Little Sammie”, as they leave. However, before they leave, Sammie says one final thing. Once a week, he wakes up paralyzed, reliving that night. However, before the sun went down, and the violence started, it was the best day of his life. He asks Stack if it’s similar for him, and he says no doubt about it. He responds by saying, “Last time I seen my brother. Last time I seen the sun. And just for a few hours… we was free.” We see flashbacks to the juke in it’s peaceful, amazing state, as Mary looks on like tears are about to fill her eyes. The couple wrap their arms around eachother, and leave. We look at Sammie’s face, as he smiles. We cut back one more time to 1932, as we see Sammie in the back of a car driven by the brothers, as they drive into the sunset, blues music playing…

In our post credits scene, we see young Sammie for the final time. Sammie plays and sings “This Little Light of Mine” on his guitar inside his father’s church, in a quiet, peaceful, emotional, innocent moment. No matter how much darkness Sammie faced, he still had light. Sammie finishes playing, and looks up, smiling…

THERE. WE. HAVE. IT. Guys, this might be one of my favorite horror films ever. Maybe even films in general. I ADORED this movie to a degree I didn’t think possible, and I am SO happy to share it with you all. If there is one thing I ask of you all, it’s to give this movie a chance. I promise you, you won’t regret it. I hope you all enjoyed it! And, wow, we have two days left. Ready those pumpkins, dear readers! As always, my friends, beware the music, beware the curses. And, Never, EVER forget, beware the sinners…