Sinners

What’s it about?

Set in 1932 Mississippi Delta, Sinners is a horror fable about twin brothers Smoke and Stack return home to open a juke joint only to face a dual threat from vampires and the Ku Klux Klan.

The facts

• Directed by Ryan Coogler (Black Panther)
• English language
• Runtime: 137 minutes
• Starring Michael B. Jordan (as Smoke and Stack), Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton
• Shot on multiple film formats

Why did it get this rating?

This film was classified by Te Mana Whakaatu, Classification Office. You can find out more about classification process and ratings here.

Horror

There are supernatural elements in the film with vampires and plenty of jump scares. The vampires lurk in the shadows with bright red eyes, have the ability to fly (or jump swiftly), and they deceive and manipulate their prey. In some scenes they attack violently, biting their victims resulting in gory and bloody wounds.

Violence

The twins Smoke and Stack return to town with notoriety from their time in Chicago. There’s references to their criminal background and having worked for Al Capone. One of the twins shoots at two suspected robbers that he discovers at the back of his bootlegger truck, maiming them on purpose.

Characters are stabbed, bitten, and shot, suffering gruesome bloody injuries. Victims are shown with blood smeared across their necks, their flesh gouged out, skin torn, and facial features mangled. The attacks result in blood spurts, sprays, or gushes to mark violent deaths. The attackers have bloody mouths and clothing. Stronger scenes include:

• A character is bashed with a guitar and the steel is embedded in their skull.
• We see vampires burn. Their skin burns away, layer by layer, revealing teeth, talons, and raw sinews until they are consumed in a flaming tornado.
• A defenceless character is peppered with bullets and the entry wounds are clearly seen.
• Jump scare: a snake is quickly stabbed in the neck with a dagger and then writhes on the glass, bleeding.
• Possessed characters start to burn and smoke as the sun hits their skin.

Offensive language

There are several uses of the ‘n’ word, once by a KKK member who says ‘I’m going to skin me a n*gger’, and once by a black character to another black character. Further offensive language used includes ‘f*ck’, ‘m*therf*cker’, and ‘c*nt’.

Content that may disturb

There are frequent references to racial divisions and inequality, and to the slave history of the south. Characters ask Anglo-Saxon / white characters ‘Are you Klan?’. We briefly see a white Klu Klux Klan costume inside a house. A black character tells the story of how his mate was wrongly accused of a crime and was lynched in public and his penis cut off.

There are light references to an infant’s death. We see a character visit a small grave, and then briefly discuss the death of the baby with his former lover. In a loving dream sequence we see them cradling the baby.

There are references to witchcraft and voodoo magic. We see a character dispensing herbal remedies, and a character wears a mojo bag for protection.

Sex scenes and themes

There are several sex scenes and references to sex in the film. In all of the sex scenes characters are fully clothed and we don’t see naked bodies but we do see movement and facial expressions that show pleasure. There is discussion between two characters about pleasuring a woman with your tongue. We later see ones of the characters going down on a woman, and the camera pans to her face before cutting to outside the room where we can hear pleasurable moans.

When content stays with you:

We all have our boundaries, and it’s completely okay if something you’ve watched is weighing on your mind. If certain content lingers with you, consider having a chat with friends or whānau to debrief about what you’ve just seen. But if you’re still feeling affected, please reach out to any of the following helplines for support.

• 1737
• Safe to talk
• Lifeline
• Youthline

Further information

• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?
• Watch with caution: wellbeing at home and at work (blog)
• Are scary films good for anything? (blog)