Sinners – 4.75 stars

There is a lot going on here, much of which I can’t recount as it would spoil the fun. And oh, what fun. Ryan Coogler’s (Creed, Black Panther) movie is so lovingly textured and expertly paced, when it turns out to be a vampire flick (which is not exactly giving anything away), you’re surprised (it seemed in service of a weightier story) and then delighted (to hell with weighty, this is a blast!)

Coogler’s care pays off handsomely. The audience is primed for something big when he takes us to the final conflict . And though the picture could have devolved into a chaotic, silly comic bloodfest, ala’ the campy and tiring From Dusk ‘Til Dawn, Coogler maintains levity but the movie never winks at you or itself. Nor does it level off on the actual scares, which are enhanced by a truly creepy, deep Southern milieu.

There are great performances all around, with particular kudos to Michael B. Jordan, playing twin brothers with a keen sense of the sameness and personality divergence; Jack O’Connell as the cleverest of nightwalkers, so charming you are almost seduced; and Miles Caton, the man the devil went down to Georgia to find, an actor who sings so mellifluously you can understand why evil would be drawn in. Coogler also soaks the flick in sweaty, redolent sex, a natural heat and lust that feels almost quaint in these times of porn chic domination.

Finally, Coogler’s direction is bravura but not showy, and one particular musical montage is Boogie Nights pool scene worthy, dizzying and captivating.

One nit – the picture has 3 endings. One would have been perfect but too brave, two excellent.  Three was a smidge tiring.