“Sinners” Exalts the Ancestors, But What About Jesus?
Sinners dazzles on screen, but its greatest flaw is unmistakable: it elevates ancestral rootwork above Christ, a choice that should give Black Christian viewers real pause.
Written By EEW Magazine Film Review Team // Reel Talk
Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros.
Ryan Coogler’s Sinners is the rare kind of horror film that feels tailor-made for Black audiences and just as urgently for Black Christians.
Set in 1930s Mississippi, it blends blues and gospel, juke joint swagger, and the shadows of Jim Crow into something both haunting and beautiful. Michael B. Jordan and his cast draw us into the world of Smoke and Stack Moore, World War I veterans who open a juke joint only to find themselves battling an ancient evil stalking their community.
Coogler’s camera lingers on the music and the rituals. The story moves on the thunder of gospel choirs, the wail of blues guitars, and the whispered prayers and rootwork passed down through generations.
The horror here is as much spiritual as it is physical. Stakes and garlic meet candlelit Hoodoo, and even the vampires carry the scars of slavery.
Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros.
Critics have called Sinners “extraordinary,” a film that “talks about evil very graphically.” They praise its artistry, its courage, and its willingness to put the struggle for freedom and survival at the center.
But for those of us who follow Christ, the movie’s spiritual message can’t be ignored—and shouldn’t be swallowed whole.
Wrestling with Spirits: Black Faith and Hoodoo
No one has to tell Black Christians that the spiritual realm is real. We’ve long known that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil (Eph. 6:12). Our churches pulse with the music of victory over darkness, and our testimonies are full of stories where God breaks chains the world can’t see.
But we also know our history is complicated. Enslaved Africans brought spiritual traditions, what would become Hoodoo, across the water, braiding them into the fabric of survival and resistance when white Christianity offered only a twisted, colonized gospel. Those roots still echo in our culture and language, sometimes even showing up in ways that challenge biblical truth.
Sinners doesn’t just acknowledge ancestral spirituality, it elevates it above the gospel.
Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros.
In Coogler’s world, it’s rootwork and ancestral rituals, not the name of Jesus, that push back the dark. Christianity, when it appears, is often mocked or rendered powerless.
A character recites the Lord’s Prayer, and the vampire laughs. The real power, the movie suggests, is in the old ways—passed down from grandmother to granddaughter, hidden in plain sight.
The Line We Cannot Cross
There’s no shame in honoring our ancestors or exploring our history. But for Christian viewers, Sinners asks us to cross a line the Bible draws in bold: Let no one be found among you who practices divination or sorcery or who consults the dead (Deut. 18:10–11).
The gospel isn’t just another set of rituals; it’s the living power of God to save, to heal, to deliver from every evil.
That’s what Sinners gets wrong. It confuses cultural memory with spiritual authority and in doing so, it offers a substitute for the cross. Its heroes seek protection in roots and charms, not the blood of Jesus. Its battles are fought with garlic, not the Word and prayer.
For all its brilliance, the film leaves viewers with the sense that victory comes from somewhere other than Christ.
Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros.
This isn’t just a creative choice; it’s a worldview. And for those of us called to spiritual clarity, it’s a worldview we must lovingly but firmly reject.
“Salvation is found in no one else,” the Bible says (Acts 4:12). “Submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Any power that doesn’t come from Jesus is no power at all.
The Real Battle: Art, Evil, and Discernment
Let’s give Sinners its due. The film’s depiction of racism as literal, spiritual evil is biblically accurate. The Bible tells us that injustice is a manifestation of darkness, and Coogler’s choice to make Klansmen into bloodsucking monsters is a stroke of symbolic genius. From the visuals to the soundtrack to the performances, Sinners is masterfully crafted.
But beauty and truth aren’t always the same thing. Christians are called to love art, but sift its messages. We are the descendants of survivors, men and women who knew how to tell the difference between what sounded good and what was true.
What We Take Away
Sinners is a landmark film, one that gives voice to Black trauma, memory, joy and resistance. It deserves to be watched, discussed, even celebrated for its artistry. But it does not—and cannot—replace the gospel. The true power that breaks every chain is found in Jesus Christ alone.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). No ritual, no root, no ancestor can save like He does.
So let’s watch with open eyes and discerning hearts. Let the movie spark conversation, not confusion. We honor our heritage best when we hold fast to the truth that set us free.
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