Most films hope to accomplish in decades what Sinners has done in just a few months. Directed by Ryan Coogler, this period-piece about a Black community facing off against vampires in the deep South has astounded viewers with its terrifying visuals and transcendent soundtrack. There are so many reasons why audiences love the film, but there’s one — or, rather, about four — that truly made Sinners one of the best horror films ever: it’s women.
It’s unfortunate how tenuous of a relationship this genre still has with its non-male characters; even with many scary movies now being led by women, creators still tend to write them as one-dimensional archetypes rather than wholly unique like their male counterparts. Sinners not only creates a cast of extremely badass horror heroines, but it refuses to pigeonhole them into one character trait, instead letting each evolve across its two-hour runtime. Even more, through one woman in particular, it constantly uplifts these characters as some of the film’s strongest, granting them the autonomy they deserve to not only showcase this film’s amazing writing but create one of the best ensembles horror has ever seen.
‘Sinners’ Understands What Makes Horror Great
It’s saddening how, outside of Sinners, most horror movies still have their women’s actions be completely driven by the men around them. That’s not to say the genre hasn’t improved in its portrayals; it’s very rare to see a scary movie today that reduces its women to one-dimensional eye-candy like was done throughout a majority of the ’80s…and ’90s…and a portion of the early 2000s. But even with the progress, audiences have still largely been robbed of women who see legitimate character development throughout their story, characters whose film’s writing gives them the distinct strengths and opinions that men in this medium are granted — which is what makes Sinners so excellent. The best horror films are built by their characters, and by writing its women with autonomy and respect, this movie creates an all-around cast of endearing heroes audiences cannot help but root for. From the defiant Annie (Hailee Steinfeld) to the tragically compassionate Grace (Li Jun Li), each of Sinners‘ women exemplifies its amazing writing, but one does it above any other character: Wunmi Mosaku’s Annie.
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It’s rare that a horror movie admits that someone is more capable than its protagonist, and it’s even rarer for that person to be the main character’s love interest. Annie asserts her authority from the moment she appears onscreen; ex-wife of protagonist Smoke (Michael B. Jordan), the Hoodoo practitioner makes it clear that while she still loves him, she would never doubt herself or bend her own wants to fulfill his own. This persists throughout, as not only does Annie constantly save our characters with her immense vampire knowledge, but the plot clarifies that they would all be dead without her expertise and grit. Any attempt to question her skills is silenced not only by Annie but the group around her, with the movie refusing to compromise its strong character in order to make her gender expression more palatable for biased audience members (like so many other films do). It respects her and her abilities, a simple, yet unfortunately rare act of storytelling that makes her journey so breathtaking to audiences and exemplifies the subtle choices that makes Sinners‘ writing so exceptional.
There’s Never Been Character Writing Like in ‘Sinners’
While the women of Sinners are all astounding, that doesn’t mean the film is perfect in their portrayals. Every woman gets into this bloody situation because of a man in their life, meaning that while they do stand on their own, the crux of their development is their relationship with the opposite sex. This is a common writing tool that has forced women’s character development to be reliant on men — which Sinners subverts perfectly. Because while these women may enter the plot through men, it’s how they’re able to stand out and above the actions of others that grants them the autonomy they are so often robbed of in other scary movies. This causes the entire cast to be a group of heroic, intriguing individuals, a feat that not only showcases the amazing writing that makes Sinners one of horror’s most legendary films, but makes these women some of this genre’s best characters (of any gender) today.
