In 1932 Mississippi, twin brothers Smoke and Stack come home from Chicago and open a juke joint for one wild night. Their young cousin Sammie plays the blues so well that it draws in a vampire named Remmick. Watch how Ryan Coogler switches between 2 film formats and lets the music carry the horror.
Sinners is a 2025 horror, drama and music film directed by Ryan Coogler. This breakdown covers 5 techniques (3 cinematography, 1 sound and 1 editing), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, Black Panther uses several of the same techniques.
Moving the camera in 1 long, unbroken and carefully planned shot that follows the action through several spaces. You see how people fit into their world without a single cut.
How this film uses it
When Sammie starts playing, the camera glides through the juke joint in what looks like 1 unbroken move. Musicians and dancers from the past and the future appear beside the 1932 crowd, from West African drummers to a DJ. Coogler has said it couldn't be shot in 1 take, since an IMAX film reel runs out in under 2 minutes, so it was built from sections. You still feel the whole history of the music pass through one room.
Where to see it
Sammie's performance of "I Lied to You". As he sings, spirits of musicians from other eras fill the room, and the camera rises toward a burning roof.
Shooting on very large-format 70mm IMAX film, which gives a much sharper, deeper and taller picture. It captures huge scale and small detail in the same shot.
How this film uses it
Coogler shot on 2 large film formats. Most scenes play in an extremely wide frame (2.76:1). For the big musical, emotional and horror moments, the picture grows into the much taller IMAX frame. The image literally opens up when the film wants you to feel more.
Where to see it
The opening minutes and the juke joint music scenes. The frame expands to the full IMAX height as the film's biggest moments arrive.
Staging a conflict as a long fight over a physical place, such as an assault on a fortress. Walls, streets, darkness and weather all become part of the drama.
How this film uses it
In the second half, the juke joint becomes a fortress. Remmick and his vampires can't come in unless someone invites them, so they wait outside in the dark and talk through the door. Every doorway and window turns into a line of defense.
Where to see it
The standoff at the door. Remmick offers the survivors immortality and freedom from racial hatred, and after he threatens her daughter, Grace Chow finally invites the vampires in.
Writing music with its own instruments, rhythms and melodies for each culture in the film, or drawing on a real culture's musical traditions. The score tells you about the people.
How this film uses it
The film opens with Annie's voiceover about musicians whose music can reach past death, from West African griots to old Irish poets. Sammie's music is the Delta blues. Remmick answers with Irish folk song, the music of his own people. Composer Ludwig Göransson even played the score on a 1932 resonator guitar, the same instrument Sammie carries.
Where to see it
Remmick's "Rocky Road to Dublin". The vampires stamp out an Irish dance outside the juke joint, singing together while they wait to be let in.
Jumping ahead years after the story has resolved to show what became of a character. The whole story before it then reads as a look back at what was right and wrong.
How this film uses it
After the credits start, the film jumps to 1992. An old Sammie, played by blues legend Buddy Guy, is visited by Stack and Mary, who haven't aged a day. They look back on the day of the juke joint's opening, before the killing started, as the happiest of their lives.
Where to see it
The mid-credits scene in 1992. Stack offers to turn Sammie into a vampire, and Sammie says no, then plays for them one more time.
Questions
Sinners: quick answers
What filmmaking techniques does Sinners use?
CineCode breaks down 5 techniques in Sinners (2025): Tracking Shot Choreography, IMAX Cinematography, Siege Cinema, Cultural Musical Identity and Jump-Forward Epilogue.
Who directed Sinners?
Ryan Coogler directed Sinners, released in 2025. CineCode also covers Black Panther (2018).
What films are similar to Sinners?
Films that share techniques with Sinners include Black Panther (2018), The Dark Knight (2008), The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).
Is there a video breakdown of Sinners?
Yes. There is a short video breakdown of Sinners on the CineCode YouTube channel, embedded on this page.
