Ryan Coogler Discusses Blues, Irish Music Links and His Vampire Villain

Director Ryan Coogler's latest film, *Sinners*, is more than just a vampire horror movie. It stands out as a unique cinematic experience by vividly capturing the essence of Mississippi in the 1930s and using blues music—a genre once denounced by preachers as "the devil's music"—to delve into the lives of its predominantly African-American characters, led by Michael B. Jordan playing twin brothers Smoke and Stack.

According to Eric Goldman's enthusiastic review for IGN, *Sinners* is not just about the blood that vampires crave; it's also about the music that pulses through its narrative. The film features blues performances by Sammie (Miles Caton) and Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo) at Smoke and Stack's establishment, which serves as a central theme to explore how music connects people across generations. The character Remmick, portrayed by Jack O'Connell, adds depth to this theme by incorporating Irish folk tunes, creating a fascinating parallel to the blues soundtrack.

Coogler masterfully intertwines African-American blues and Irish folk music to highlight the shared painful histories of the film's human and vampire characters. These musical elements are showcased in impressive set pieces that, as Goldman notes, make *Sinners* "musical adjacent" and illustrate how music echoes through time, immortalizing its creators.

In a recent interview with IGN, Ryan Coogler discussed the significance of blues and Irish music in *Sinners*, the film's standout sequences, and his personal connection to the vampire antagonist, Remmick, likening it to his experience writing Killmonger for *Black Panther*.

Ryan Coogler: Blues music is an affirmation of the characters' full humanity. It's intertwined with church music, yet it embraces the flesh and the soul in ways that church music often doesn't. It acknowledges the pain, desires, and anger—the full human condition. The blues are a rebellion against the oppressive situations these characters face, a celebration of their beauty, and a safe haven where they can be their true selves.

IGN: What’s your read on the vampire community? They bring all these people of different races and backgrounds together but now they’re a collective rather than individual. There’s probably a lot of ways people could interpret what that means.

Ryan Coogler: I love this movie and want to present it as authentically as possible. Once it's released, it belongs to the audience, and their interpretations are valid. Writing Remmick was a deeply personal experience for me, much like writing Killmonger. I wanted him to be a master vampire, someone who evolves as the story unfolds, challenging preconceptions about race and identity.

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26 ImagesIGN: My two favorite sequences in this movie are the two big showstopping musical set pieces. The juke joint one and then the vampires get theirs too.

Ryan Coogler: Those scenes are essential to the film's theme of fellowship and love. They represent the rebellion against oppressive structures that denied these people their right to express themselves. The juke joint scene, in particular, was crafted as a one-er to show the timelessness of music and its ability to transcend cultural boundaries.

IGN: The juke joint sequence is particularly amazing because it's staged as a one-er. You're playing with time, and you're showing the cultural crossovers too. Visually, you're showing us how music is timeless, or at least what it brings out in people is timeless. At what point did you realize you wanted to play with time in that scene?

Ryan Coogler: The idea came during the writing process. I wanted to capture the feeling of being in the presence of a virtuoso performance, which is a universal human experience. Cinema is my language, and I aimed to convey that transcendent feeling through the film's visuals and narrative.

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12 ImagesIGN: There’s that second tour de force musical set-piece later, and it's from the vampires’ perspective using traditional Irish folk music.

Ryan Coogler: Irish folk music, like delta blues, embodies a mastery of contrast. It often tells heartbreaking stories with vigor, which mirrors the film's themes of resilience and hidden rebellion. The vampire character's connection to this music reflects his understanding of the struggles faced by the human characters, despite their differences.

IGN: Have a party.

Ryan Coogler: Absolutely, it's about not letting them see us cry. Music and dance are ways to cope with adversity, and this connection transcends cultural and racial boundaries, which is a core theme of Sinners.