The Monsters We Choose to Become

At Indiana University, I took a class on horror films. In this class, we discussed how horror reflects the fears of time and the society in which it is created and, as a result, often speaks to the dark underbelly we are often afraid to confront directly. The recently released Sinners is no different in this regard.

Released when the movie industry is reeling, political turmoil has struck the nation, and the looming threat of tariffs has Americans holding on tight to their cash, the movie hits these issues head-on with a simple question. Is it better to become the monster?

Stop here to avoid spoilers for the movie Sinners (2025).

Devil Went Down to Mississippi

Smoke and Stack (both portrayed by Michael B. Jordan) arrive in their hometown in the Mississippi Delta. With them, they bring booze, cash, and a reputation stolen from their time in Chicago. While these twins are eager to dodge their past scorned lovers and lives as World War I vets, they are just as keen to start fresh with a real barn burner of a party as they buy an old sawmill ready to serve their community with a new juke joint.

An unexpected tag-along came with the twins down from the North—the devil himself. When they uncover their truck full of beer and wine, a snake poises itself to strike. Stack tosses his knife to Smoke, and in swift motion, he slays the ancient evil, tosses it to the ground, and allows its blood to seep into the land. These sinners have no regard for the dangers they're bringing to their town as they seek forbidden love, and to make money from the folks who raised them.

The movie pretends to place the blame for its later events on a single character, but the soil is already tainted. The region is barely healed from slavery, and the Ku Klux Klan is operating without oversight. The devil was already knocking at the door of this Mississippi town, and this "smoke stack" signal was merely the invitation it needed to be welcomed inside.

Violin or Fiddle?

Sammie Moore, referred to as Preacher Boy and portrayed by Miles Caton, can play the guitar. Preach Boy can play the guitar so well that he can "summon the spirits of both past and future." This point is illustrated with the most transcendent movie scene I've watched in years (I was blessed to see it in 70mm IMAX). The movie frames this ability Sammie wields as the main point of conflict.

Does playing this music invoke the devil himself and draw the monsters from the dark? I don't think so. To me, Sammie is drawing on his internal pain, the conflict within his family, the struggles of his ancestors, and the hope for his future community. That is to say, this is not evil music that summons the vampires to the party, but music that is so purely good and powerful that it functions as a burning beacon in the night, asking to be snuffed out. The vampires, led by Remmick and portrayed by Jack O'Connell, are just as entranced by the music as the attendees of the juke joint, driven by a deep jealousy that they can never truly be one with the community. So they feel they must take it for their own.

"I don't care about your stories, Sammie, just your songs," Remmick says when his friendly mask comes off. It is not a mistake that Remmick is portrayed by an English actor with Irish heritage. The Irish had their culture whitewashed by the colonization of their country by the English and the rise of Christianity. Historically, Irish people were discriminated against in the US. They can't speak directly about the Black experience, but they can resonate from times past. The jealousy Rennick feels stems from the echoes of his ancestry, Irish immigrants have held on to.

Rennick was removed from his history and is now in a place of power, but he seeks vengeance and continues the cycle of violence through Sammie and this Mississippi community. There is no regard for allyship; everyone is welcome to join up, so long as they are willing to help him seek his ends, not their own.

Mo Money Mo Problems

Early in the film, Smoke talks with his estranged wife, Annie, portrayed by Wunmi Mosaku. She talks to him about the forces of evil and how to keep him protected. She's a practitioner of Hoodoo and, as a result, sees things a certain way that conflicts with Smoke's lived experience. Smoke, on the other hand, only knows one type of power. Nothing supernatural or otherworldly, but potentially just as sinister as any of the forces Annie talks about. Money.

In Smoke's eyes, if you have enough money, you can achieve anything and truly be free. Growing up in the Jim Crow South, as a war vet, and a gangster in the streets of Chicago, he has been poor and witnessed people wield that power against him. Now returning to Mississippi, he has enough money to buy the town, he holds the power.

He and his brothers' first act is to buy the sawmill from its owner, a prominent leader of the Ku Klux Klan. They send him off with a foreboding warning. They think this show of force (the large bag of money) may be enough to ward off the Klan.

When Rennick first approaches the juke joint, he offers to pay to get in. Being White, he has access to greater wealth than the average southern Black share-cropper who's attending the juke joint for the night.

And lastly, as Hogwood, the Klan leader, lies on the ground begging for his life beneath Smoke. He offers him money in hopes of escaping. His buddies have been slain, and he is the only one remaining. However, he shares the same belief that Smoke had at the beginning of the film. That money can buy his freedom even after he's committed terrible wrongs.

What is Freedom?

Each of these instances is contrasted by another show of power. Rennick can grant immortality, strength, and community to whomever he bites. He offers this power to Smoke after taking his brother and much of the local community from him. Every converted vampire has a shared purpose, even if it's not theirs alone. Rennick is offering the same freedom that Smoke sees money giving him.

Rennick's main goal is to acquire Sammie, to convert him, and to take his songs. This reminds me of the early rock' n' roll era, when artists like Elvis pulled influence from the Black community. Using their whiteness to gain prominence when their work was ultimately the work of another. Rennick has 'freed' the people of the town, but in doing so, he has stolen from them their sense of self, the community they had, and ultimately their soul. So by giving them power and willingly giving in to the evil of becoming a vampire, they have gained a lot but lost just as much.

In the post-credits scene of the movie, it is revealed that Stack and his lover Mary are alive sixty years later, just as young as they were in the main events of the movie. The two visit Sammie, the lone survivor of the massacre, after one of his shows. They ask him to play like he used to, the old way. They talk about the day Rennick attacked as one of the best days of their lives, the last day they felt truly free. But without having been turned into vampires, Stack and Mary would have died that night just like everyone else, or lived and been forced apart by societal norms. Being turned let them live a long life together. They had true power a true freedom that they would not have otherwise been given. So is it really so bad to have had their soul stolen away?

For Myself - Selfishly

So I watched this movie two days ago, and it has weighed on me heavily like no piece of media has for quite a while. The fears of our time live within me as they do in many others at this time. I am currently unemployed, my bank account is draining, and job opportunities are hard to come by. Yet I resist working for certain companies due to the values they espouse, despite being a skilled worker who could seek opportunities with them. I am seeking a deeper community and a fulfilling life. In a time after COVID, we are more isolated than ever before.

It is hard enough to find a job, to find a community, and to work to do it in a fulfilling way. Sammie did it through music; he stuck with his passion, and while his father, the preacher, did not approve of it directly, Sammie didn't lose himself to the evils he summoned. Stack also found meaning. He left behind his brother and his community, but he still had his love, his freedom, and a long life. It's not necessarily wrong, but we also aren't certain of what suffering he inflicted on others. It's a hidden life taking place over 60 years. What other communities did he destroy, convert, and "free"?

So I am sitting, staring at the silver screen as the credits roll, and I ask myself: Should I become a vampire? Is it okay to 'sell my soul?' When all other options are exhausted and you are given the opportunity to wield power, get money, and live free, are you right to take it, or are you losing something else? We are faced with these questions every day in every decision.

So I pose the question to you: Is it okay to become the monster?