The supernatural horror film Sinners draws on particular pieces of mythology to characterize its vampires.
Ryan Coogler's latest film reunites him with his Black Panther star Michael B. Jordan, who plays the twins Smoke and Stack, who return to their hometown and find demons (both metaphorical and physical) awaiting them.
Sinners is a unique film thanks to its blend of period setting and horror elements (which has garnered a rare Rotten Tomatoes score), but it sticks to many traditions when it comes to its construction of vampires.
Why Do Vampires Have to Be Invited In In Sinners Movie?
Sinners draws on many different pieces of vampire lore for its supernatural creatures, one of which is that vampires have to be invited willingly into a building to be able to enter it.
This idea is introduced early in Sinners, in one of the first scenes with Jack O'Connell's master vampire Remmick.
Remmick is seen approaching Joan (Lola Kirke) and Bert's (Peter Dreimanis) home as he flees from the Choctaw hunters. He's unable to step over the threshold until they invite him in, which is when he has the opportunity to turn them.
Later, Remmick and his crew show up at Smoke and Stack's juke joint, but the brothers refuse to let them in, meaning the vampires cannot attack.
Annie (Wunmi Mosaku) explains to the group her knowledge of vampires, which includes that they can't be let in without being invited.
It's only later, when Grace (Li Jun Li) yells from inside the house that the vampires waiting outside can come in, that they enter and the battle begins.
The concept of inviting vampires is a classic trope in the mythology and pop culture of vampires. Dracula, The Lost Boys, The Vampire Diaries, and True Blood are all vampire stories that have used the same idea, and Sinners is just the latest to take advantage of it.
Sinners also includes several other traditional vampire tropes, like their aversion to garlic and sunlight, and the ability to kill them with silver bullets and wooden stakes.
What's Different About the Vampires in Sinners?
While Sinners uses several classic vampire tropes, it has a twist on the supernatural creatures, particularly regarding their intentions.
Rather than being drawn by blood or hunger, Remmick is attracted to the juke joint by the power of Sammie's (played by breakout star Miles Caton) blues music.
Remmick's master plan is to turn Sammie (whose music is powerful enough to pierce the veil between life and death) so that he can use his power to connect with the spirits of his ancestors. Additionally, Remmick turns everyone he possibly can to form a clan of his own people, in pursuit of his desire for family.
This interweaving of music, ancestry, family, and death is one of the unique takes on vampires that Sinners offers, and it was an intentional move from Coogler, who told Variety that "it wasn't enough" for Remmick to just be out for blood:
"Our vampire had to be in conversation with those themes: the concept of family and community. It wasn’t enough for him to just want to bite someone’s neck."
In constructing his vampires in Sinners, Coogler relied on many tropes that audiences are familiar with, but this also gave the director the room to focus on embellishing the more interesting aspects of his vampires and their characterization.
