“There are legends of people born with the gift of making music so true, it can pierce the veil between life and death, conjuring spirits from the past and the future.” So declares the opening narration of Ryan Coogler ‘s triumphant blockbuster Sinners . “This gift can bring healing to their communities, but it also attracts evil.”

The narration establishes the rules of Sinners ‘ world, in which vampires lay siege upon a juke joint in 1932 Clarksdale, Mississippi. It also foregrounds one of the movie’s primary themes: the power of art to bring good or evil into the world. During its theatrical release earlier this spring, many of Sinners ‘ viewers keyed in on music as the movie’s primary focus, and with good reason. The film begins and ends with musician Sammie, played as a youn

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