Cornbread tries to manipulate them with gaslighting and virtue signals, invoking plenty of fear and distrust as the heroes decide whether they should trust their old friend. Smoke arguably should’ve just tossed the money outside instead of reaching out his hand and getting bit. Nevertheless, the scene remains a standout part of Sinners, achieving a memeworthy blend of humor and suspense that masterfully invokes racial and social tensions.

7

Remmick Appears

Jack O’Connell’s Character Has A Haunting Introduction In Sinners

While on the run from a group of vampire hunters, the evil Remmick talks his way into hiding with Bert and Joan, who are part of the Ku Klux Klan. Remmick’s first appearance onscreen is jarring, as he quite literally falls into the frame while steaming as a result of the sun.

Though the hunters warn the couple about Remmick’s true nature, Bert and Joan foolishly ignore them. Viewers know full well what’s coming because of that first glance at Remmick, but the couple aren’t yet aware, adding to the tension of the moment.

In a scene straight out of Salem’s Lot, Joan finds Remmick in a rocking chair with blood on his face and her husband lying ᴅᴇᴀᴅ on the floor. But once Bert rises as a vampire, the film sets off Remmick’s invasion of Clarksdale on a frightening high note as Joan’s screams echo through the night.

6

The Vampire Dance

Remmick And His Thralls Have Quite A Hoedown

Having turned just about everyone from the juke joint into vampires, Remmick leads his unᴅᴇᴀᴅ horde in a sing-along of “Rocky Road to Dublin,” complete with Irish river dancing. It’s a surprising and unusual scene at first, especially for a blockbuster horror movie.

However, given that Sinners is about celebrating culture and heritage through music, this sequence acts as a striking parallel to Sammie’s blues concert as Remmick pays tribute to his ancient roots. At the same time, it’s a haunting depiction of how almost everyone at the juke joint has become enthralled and ᴀssimilated into Remmick’s hive mind.

5

Humans Vs. Vampires

Smoke And His Group Get Into Quite A Brawl At The End Of Sinners

After Grace invites the vampires into the juke joint to protect her daughter from their wrath, she and the other survivors find themselves in an epic showdown against Remmick and his unᴅᴇᴀᴅ army. It’s a thrilling and gruesome climax with many heartbreaking losses as loved ones end up fighting and killing each other in a battle for survival.

With Grace burning to death with her vampire husband and Mary’s devastation at watching Smoke drive a stake through Annie, Sinners shows how humanity was lost on both sides of the conflict, and that everyone involved, living and ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, felt the pain.

It also gives a jolt of energy to the movie. Though Sinners‘ slow-burn nature is actually one of its greatest strengths, as it shows Coogler’s care and attention to detail, the sudden burst of action enlivens the movie even more and really digs into the terrifying nature of the vampires.

4

Smoke And Sammie Defeat Remmick

The Vampires Are Extinguished In An Emotional Final Bout

After Sammie and Smoke are overwhelmed by the vampires, the former comes face-to-face with Remmick and death itself. As Sammie recites the Lord’s Prayer, Remmick reveals how Sammie’s Christian religion was also imposed upon him and his people by those who conquered his ancestral home, lending greater depth and complexity to this villainous character.

While it’s easy to understand Remmick’s motivations, Sammie delivers a satisfying blow to his enemy with his silver guitar. After a final strike from Smoke, Remmick goes down in a literal blaze of glory as a fiery tornado engulfs his body, with other vampires dying with him in a dazzling, unforgettable conclusion.

3

Smoke Ambushes The KKK

Smoke Takes Down The Klan Singlehandedly

Even after Smoke and Sammie defeat Remmick’s vampire clan, the former is not done fighting. Remmick had warned him of the KKK’s plan to attack the juke joint. Instead of running, Smoke sticks around to confront the Klan himself. In a reversal of Night of the Living ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, Smoke gets the drop on this armed mob and takes everyone out in an explosive, crowd-pleasing shootout.

Though Smoke succumbs to his wounds during the fight, he takes the entire mob down with him, giving him one last victory against the racial oppression he and his people endured for so long. On top of that, he also reunites with Annie and their infant daughter as he dies, giving him what he always wanted after a climactic last stand.

It makes for an overall cathartic conclusion, one that indulges in the satisfaction of taking out horrible racists and gives Smoke the closest thing to a happy ending that he could achieve at that point. It’s also beautifully sH๏τ, particularly at the moment when a white-clad Annie appears before Smoke.

2

The Mid-Credits Scene

Sammie Has An Unforgettable Reunion With Stack And Mary

Sinners features a lengthy mid-credits scene in which the elderly Sammie encounters the vampiric Stack and Mary, who survived the battle at the juke joint. It starts off as a frightening reunion, but Stack and Mary show they still have humanity left in them, as they had agreed to let Sammie live his life.

The scene grows even more heartwarming when Sammie plays his music for the unᴅᴇᴀᴅ couple. When they all recount the joy and freedom they felt at the juke joint before the vampires attacked, Sammie gains the peace and closure that he needed in this beautiful ending.

Considering how the final moments of Sinners prior to the start of the credits involved so much violence and bloodshed, it’s a sweet relief to get a more peaceful coda with the last characters left standing. It’s a fitting conclusion to a movie that is more about humanity and history than about vampires.

1

Sammie’s Juke Joint Jam

Sammie Performs In A Psychedelic, Mystical Concert

When Sammie made his debut at the juke joint, he sent audiences on a musical trip unlike any other with his ability to conjure spirits. As he plays “I Lied to You” on his guitar, the blues prodigy summons ghosts from the past and the future who perform alongside him with their own instruments and genres of music.

With Sinners presenting the concert in one long take, the film immerses the audience in a transcendent celebration of music and culture that literally burns the roof off the building. Coogler’s daring approach to the scene made it an instant talking point among viewers.

This scene alone became Sinners‘ most recognizable and mind-blowing cinematic achievement. It perfectly encapsulates everything Coogler set out to achieve when it comes to the movie’s themes of music and history, and there are few scenes this year that come close to feeling as memorable and special.