Sinnersis not only the highest-grossing original live-action movie in the last 15 years, but it also has some of the most mesmerizing quotes. Ever since Ryan Coogler’s movie arrived in theaters,audiences have been obsessed with some of the iconic linesthe characters said.
Set in the Mississippi Delta on a night in 1932, the movie sees a pair of twin brothers,Smoke and Stack(Michael B. Jordan), come home to open a juke joint. However, their grand opening night took a sharp turn upon the visit of a centuries-old vampire, Remmick.
Despite heavily featuring supernatural elements,the film explores themes such as identity, power, greed, and racial trauma. Some of the best lines were key to understandingwhatSinnersis really about.
9"Last Time I Seen My Brother…And Just For A Few Hours, We Were Free."
Said By Stack
Sinners' post-credits scenesaw Stack and Mary visiting Sammie years after the night in the juke joint. Now immortal, Stack asked Sammie to play him a blues tune one last time. Sammie told Stack that he was still traumatized by what happened that night and asked Stack what it was like for him, and that was when Stack responded with the iconic line,
Last time I seen my brother, last time I seen the sun. And just for a few hours, we were free.
Smoke died when the sun came out. After a night fighting the vampires, he was attacked by the Ku Klux Klan members and was fatally injured during the confrontation.Stack’s words refer to his grief and the fleeing happiness before the fatal events, where he lost his brother and his mortality. While vampires were portrayed as monsters throughout the film, his words shed some light on their ability to feel and connect.
8"I Play, And I Get As Much Corn Liquor As I Can Drink."
Said By Delta Slim
Delta Slim was recruited by Stack to play the blues to entertain the crowd on the opening night. Stack convinced him to leave his post at the train station with the offer of free imported beer. While the character initially seemed like a comedic relief,Delta Slim has a deep backstory that ties into his pursuit of the blues and self-medication.
I play, and I get as much corn liquor as I can drink. A sinner like me, I can’t ask for more than that.
Delta Slim carries the racial trauma he experienced in the early 20th century in the Mississippi Delta, having witnessed the lynching of his friend.TheSinnerscharacterused liquor to cope with the pain and PTSD, and the blues as a way to express his truth. Though committing no real sins, he referred to himself as a sinner. The line saw himrejecting the religious practice forced upon him and his ancestors.
7"You Keep Dancing With The Devil…One Day He’s Gonna Follow You Home."
Said By Jedidiah Moore
Sammie’s father, Jedidiah Moore, is a preacher who prohibited his son from playing the blues.While his words warned Sammie against playing the blues, they’re also about safety and survival, where the seductive nature of the music could lead to exploitation and danger.
InSinners, Sammie’s blues pierced through time and space andattracted the vampire Remmick, which eerily mirrored Jedediah’s warning. However, despite having experienced the horrific opening night, where so many were killed,Sammie became a blues musician and remained active until old age.
Image via Warner Bros.
Stack and Mary’s relationship had several twists and turns inSinners.Initially seen as the emotionally unavailable man who rejected Mary’s affection, Stack eventually opened up abouthow he truly felt about her and why he couldn’t be with her. In an emotional moment, he confessed:
I love you. And I think about you every day. I just want to keep you someplace safe. And that was never going to be here. And it was never going to be with me.
Events inSinnerstook place during the Jim Crow era, when local laws enforced racial segregation. Interracial relationships were prohibited and punished under the anti-miscegenation laws. Some states also deemed such relationships illegal. Stack’s words captured the harsh reality they lived in, where their union would bring trouble and danger instead of celebration.
5"Before The Sun Went Down, I Think That Was The Best Day Of My Life."
Said By Sammie
Sammie didn’t turn into a vampire. Instead, the opening night became a pivotal moment in his life that eventually led him to become a blues musician. During the post-credits scene, he recalled the turbulent night and admitted that he still carries scars from what happened:
You know something? Maybe once a week, I wake up paralyzed, reliving that night. But before the sun went down, I think that was the best day of my life.
However, despite having gone through the trauma,Sammie’s love for the bluesand his purpose as a musician weren’t dimmed. The line from him is about the character’s identity and truth.
4"We’re Gonna Kill Every Last One Of You."
Said By Mary
The chilling line was one of the highlights inSinners’trailer, and it’s equally shocking in the movie. Mary, having become a vampire, has turned against those she grew up knowing, which contrasts sharply with her warm and kind nature as a human. The line exposeshow vampirism seems to take away a person’s identity and shape them into a bloodthirsty monster.
Despite having been a human until the opening night, Mary switched sides immediately after being turned. Within seconds, she went from a human being to a predator who seduced Stack and turned him into the same creature as she was.
3"I Hated Those Men, But The Words Still Bring Me Comfort."
Said By Remmick
Remmick revealed a similar storyto those in the juke joint. In the scene where he recited the Lord’s prayer, the centuries-old Irish vampire also revealed his backstory, wherehe was forced to accept the religion of those who took his family’s landand eventually found comfort in prayers:
Long ago… the men who stole my father’s land forced these words upon us. I hated those men, but the words still bring me comfort. Those men lied to themselves and lied to us. They told stories of a God above and a Devil below. And lies of a dominion of man over beast and Earth. We are earth and beast, and god. We are woman and man. We are connected, you and I - to everything.
The words refer to religious prayers and the stories of a God above and a Devil below point to the teaching of Christianity. As a vampire who has lived through centuries of British colonization and oppression in Ireland, his words draw similarities to the experience of oppression in America andhow Christianity was used as a means of power and control.
2"I’m Your Way Out."
Aside from the downside of being a vampire, Remmick presented vampirism as a way out of oppression, where they could feed on the blood of innocent people and stay powerful and unharmed for eternity. Interestingly, his goal wasn’t to feed on everyone in the juke joint but to build his army against outside threats.
I am your way out. This world already left you for dead. Won’t let you build. Won’t let you fellowship. We will do just that. Together. Forever.
The line is hauntingly mesmerizing because Remmick spoke of the challenges the oppressed community in the South faced during that time, where the world “won’t let you build” and “won’t let you fellowship.” He wanted companionship and power, andsimilar to those who took his family’s land and lied to him, he presented vampirism as an alluring offer and glossed over the cost.
1"I’ve Been All Over This World…I’ve Seen Men Die In Ways I Ain’t Even Know Was Possible."
Said by Smoke
The linespoke of Smoke’s pastas a soldier and a gangster, who has been to different parts of the world and has seen the worst that human beings could do to each other in the face of greed and power. Smoke is disillusioned, cold, and calculative. He told Annie the line when he tried to convince her to take the money that she claimed was cursed.
Smoke also didn’t believe in the supernatural. From his experience, power was everything, and money was the currency. The line offered a glimpse intothe character’s past and the experiences that shaped him into the man he became, though far from who he really is.
