The 2024 awards season has barely wrapped up, and already we have a frontrunner for 2025. Proving that it's not just solemn dramas that are worthy of critical acclaim, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners has emerged as somewhat of a cinematic revelation, blending supernatural horror with a poignant exploration of racial tensions in 1930s Mississippi.
The film stars Michael B. Jordan in dual roles: twin brothers, who are forced to confront an evil vampire force who is drawn the music at their juke nightclub. But Sinners is a little deeper than vampire films of decades past, fusing horror with poignant social commentary.
If, like us, you've already made a trip to the cinema to devour the film, and have been left wanting more, don't fret. Below, we've rounded up seven films like Sinners worth watching next.
1. From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
This fever dream comes from the minds of Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. It bends genres, beginning as a gritty crime thriller, before descending into pulpy vampire territory. All the action takes place in a sleazy desert bar that turns out to be hell’s waiting room, for a blood-soaked and chaotic turn of events.
2. Let The Right One In (2008)
This is Swedish horror intertwines the innocence of childhood with the darkness of vampirism. Set in the quiet and icy suburbia of Sweden, a young boy who is being bullied befriends a mysterious girl who isn't quite what she seems. Directed by Tomas Alfresdson, the film is a classic vampire tale that hums with loneliness and longing.
3. Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston star in this melancholic tale of two centuries-old vampires navigating the modern world. The two are eternal outsiders, obsessed with music, memory, and meaning in a world that’s forgotten how to feel. It's less about blood, more about beauty.
4. Thirst (2009)
Park Chan-wook’s sensual, subversive vampire drama is an artful exploration of sin and desire. When a failed medical experiment leaves a priest stricken with campirisim, he becomes undead and unholy in the same breath.
5. The Witch (2015)
The Witch marked director Robert Eggers' debut. Set in New England in the 1630s, it follows an isolated Puritan family, who are tested by forces of witchcraft. It also marked a breakthrough performance for Anya Taylor Joy, who leads the cast as Thomasin.
6. Heretic (2024)
If you're only familiar with Hugh Grant as his sleazy-but-loveable characters in the likes of Bridget Jones' Diary and Love Actually, think again. In Heretic, he plays Mr Reed, a sinister and reclusive man who traps two young LDS missionaries in his home when they knock on his door.
7. Eve's Bayou (1997)
While not strictly horror, this Southern Gothic tale is brimming with ancestral magic and secrets. Set in the heat of a Louisiana summer, it’s a story of family, betrayal, and mystic forces, where every whispered secret feels like a curse. Not quite horror, but haunted all the same.
Feature image via Instagram.
