Sinners 4K Ultra HD Review

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

A Haunting Setting, A Sinister Threat 

Ryan Coogler’s Sinners transports audiences to the stark, oppressive landscape of the 1932 Mississippi Delta. Twin brothers Smoke and Stack Moore (both played with magnetic intensity by Michael B. Jordan), weary veterans and former criminals, return to their hometown with stolen money and a dream: to build a juke joint for their Black community. Their attempt at redemption and entrepreneurship, however, collides violently with the era’s virulent racism and a far more ancient evil – a predatory supernatural force embodied by the chilling vampire Remmick (Jack O’Connell). The film masterfully intertwines gritty historical drama with visceral horror, creating a pressure cooker of tension where human prejudice and monstrous hunger become terrifyingly intertwined.

Commanding Performances Anchor the Chaos 

Michael B. Jordan delivers a career-defining feat, distinctively embodying the pragmatic, protective Smoke and the more impulsive, yearning Stack. Their fraternal bond is palpable, making the trials they face deeply personal. The stellar supporting cast shines brightly: Hailee Steinfeld brings tragic complexity to Mary, Stack’s past love; Miles Caton is deeply compelling as the musically gifted, conflicted cousin Sammie; Delroy Lindo exudes weary wisdom as pianist Delta Slim; and Wunmi Mosaku provides grounded strength and spiritual insight as Annie, Smoke’s Hoodoo-practicing partner. Jack O’Connell’s Remmick is a uniquely menacing and calculating villain, far removed from typical vampire tropes.

The Blues: Heartbeat and Harbinger 

The film’s soul lies in its authentic and powerful use of blues music. It’s not just soundtrack; it’s narrative engine, emotional catharsis, and even a plot catalyst. Ludwig Göransson’s score, deeply rooted in period authenticity and performed on instruments like the 1932 Dobro Cyclops resonator guitar Sammie carries, is a character itself – mournful, resonant, and occasionally transcendent. Scenes within the juke joint, featuring live performances by Sammie (Caton), Delta Slim (Lindo), and singer Pearline (Jayme Lawson), pulsate with raw energy. The music becomes a beacon of community and defiance, yet also, chillingly, a siren call to the darkness lurking outside. The commitment to recording live on set with real blues musicians (including legends like Buddy Guy, who also appears) lends these sequences an undeniable power and authenticity.

Themes of Community, Oppression, and Legacy 

Sinners operates powerfully on multiple levels. It’s a gripping siege horror film, pitting the Moore brothers and their allies against a terrifying supernatural threat within the claustrophobic confines of their nascent juke joint. Simultaneously, it’s a potent exploration of Black resilience and community building in the face of systemic oppression (embodied by the Klan and economic hardship). The supernatural evil cleverly mirrors and exploits the pervasive racism of the era, creating a double layer of terror. Themes of family legacy, the burden of the past (both personal and historical), the search for freedom, and the literal and metaphorical cost of survival resonate long after the credits roll. Annie’s Hoodoo practices offer a crucial counterpoint to the European-derived vampire mythos, grounding the resistance in African diasporic traditions.

A Visceral and Ambitious Triumph 

Sinners is a bold, ambitious, and ultimately triumphant film. Coogler seamlessly blends genres – historical epic, crime drama, supernatural horror, and musical – into a cohesive and utterly compelling whole. The production design by Hannah Beachler is immersive, the cinematography by Autumn Durald Arkapaw is stunning (especially in its large-format presentations), and the action sequences are brutal and impactful. While intensely violent and harrowing, the film is equally rich in emotional depth and thematic resonance. The unique premise, stellar performances across the board, and the integral, soul-stirring blues soundtrack make Sinners a standout cinematic experience. It’s a film that lingers, a testament to the power of community against overwhelming darkness, both human and inhuman. Highly recommended for those seeking sophisticated, character-driven horror with profound historical weight and a truly unique sonic signature. Sinners delivers a powerful and ambitious narrative, though some may find its expansive epilogue slightly diminishes the lingering dread and raw complexity of the central siege. This reflective coda, while offering poignant closure, arguably wraps the preceding chaos in a more conventional narrative package than the film’s otherwise unflinching intensity might suggest.

The Video

Sinners was shot completely on 65mm film stock using both using both Ultra Panavision 70 cameras and IMAX 15-perf 65mm. On 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, it is given a variable ratio 1.78:1 (IMAX scenes) and 2.76:1 HEVC 2160p (4K UHD) Dolby Vision encodement that looks as stunning as one would expect a movie shot on 65mm to look. A 4K DI was used to master the film and HDR10 metadata shows a MaxLL of 253 nits and a MaxFALL of 36 nits. The movie is dark most of the time, but the daylight scenes look warm and inviting. While the Dolby Vision doesn’t hit you in the face with stunning highlights everywhere, there is excellent shadow detail and when it needs to give a lot of pop, such as when there is a scene with a lot of flames, it does.

The Audio

The English Dolby Atmos mix for Sinners is reference. The robust low frequency extension underpins the blues performances and the big, surreal, juke joint musical number as well as the action when it kicks off. There is also a bit of “voice of God” effect in the occasional narration and ample amounts of height awareness and solid effects through the surrounds.

The Supplements

There is a robust collection of featurettes and nearly 20-minutes of deleted scenes included.

Bonus Features:

• Movies Anywhere Digital Code
• Dancing with the Devil: The Making of Sinners (1080p; 00:32:39)
• Blues in the Night: The Music of Sinners (1080p; 00:13:47)
• Thicker than Blood: Becoming the Smokestack Twins (1080p; 00:10:47)
• Spirits of the Deep South (1080p; 00:08:00)
• Wages of Sin: The Creature FX of Sinners (1080p; 00:10:53)
• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 00:18:32)
  • Farmhouse Dinner
  • Juke Building Montage
  • Sammie and Slim Talk at Piano
  • Slim Plays “My Preachin”
  • Mary and Annie Talk about Gumbo
  • Joan Watches Cornbread
  • Jed Sermon and Steal Away

The Final Assessment

Ryan Coogler’s winning streak continues with this fantastic horror action piece. Warner Bros. Provides a reference quality 4K platter. Get it.

Sinners is out on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray July 8, 2025 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

Details

• Rating Certificate: R (for strong bloody violence, sexual content and language.)
• Studios & Distributors: Warner Bros. | Domain Entertainment | Proximity Media | Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
• Director: Ryan Coogler
• Written By: Ryan Coogler
• Run Time: 137 Mins.
• Aspect Ratio: Variable 2.76:1 & 1.78:1
• Video Format: HEVC 2160p (4K UHD)
• HDR Format: Dolby Vision (HDR10 Compatible)
• HDR10 Metadata:
  • MaxLL: 253 nits
  • MaxFALL: 36 nits
• Primary Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Compatible)
• Secondary Audio: English DD 5.1 | English Descriptive Audio (US) | English Descriptive Audio (UK) | French DD 5.1 | Spanish DD 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH | French | Spanish