All through October, I’ll be posting reviews of the best of the best films in the horror genre released since October 1, 2024, through September 30, 2025. As an added bonus, I’ll be adding a secondary review that may be somewhat related to the main review or slightly missed the countdown by inches. Follow along the countdown every day in October. Feel free to agree, disagree, or better yet, give me your own picks for your favorite horror movies of the year. Happy Halloween!

6. SINNERS (2025)

Released on April 18, 2025, and streaming on HBO MAX from Warner Brothers!
Directed/Written by Ryan Coogler.
Check out the trailer here!!

Twins Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan) return home from Chicago with a tote bag full of money and a dream to open up their own juke joint with alcohol, food, blues music and all the fixins. They snag up their cousin Sammie (played by Miles Caton), a preacher’s son and fledgling bluesman and Delta Slim (played by Delroy Lindo) an old drunk bluesman, Smoke’s old squeeze Annie (played by Wunmi Mosaku) who is educated in the juju and set out to have opening night in a brand new barn Smoke and Stack purchased from a local businessman Hogwood (David Maldonado). But set to crash the party is Remmick (played by Jack O’Connell), an Irishman with a dark and vicious secret that means doom for all involved in Smoke and Stack’s new juke joint.

SINNERS is a film of epic scope. Director/writer Ryan Coogler recreates the old South from the cotton fields to the church houses to the small-town shops. From top to bottom, this is big time movie making and Coogler has fleshed out this world like few other films do these days, recreating not the most glamorous days of Black America, but some of the most genuine. I don’t know where Coogler is from, but this movie feels like it was lived in first hand and everything from the looks, smells, feels, and language feels absolutely authentic to the time.

I’m going to keep going back to the scope of this film because with very few movies under his belt, Coogler has risen to the ranks usually reserved for directors like Scorsese and Spielberg and is able to juggle this massive story with ease by telling a big, big story and never forgetting the smaller moments to draw the viewer in. While I’ve reviewed other genres, I stick to horror films and while SINNERS is most definitely a horror film, they just don’t make horror films of this size and scale. You don’t get performances like these in most horror films, and you certainly don’t have the budget for them.

SINNERS is full of moments that will scare you. Some moments are soaked in blood and entrails. Some are just downright chilling in fresh new ways. But while Coogler takes the first half of the film to allow the audience to get to know the characters in this massive story, the second half is the kind of action and terror that we just haven’t seen in quite a while. I didn’t mind the slower pace to get to the good stuff because it is filled with so much attention to detail of the culture of the time and getting to know the unique cast.

And this cast is a good one. I guess if there is one e complaint, they made Jordan’s dual characters a little too similar. Sure, they dress them in red and blue colors, but once things get down and dirty, telling the two apart gets to be a little difficult. They are played by the same actor, you know. That said, Jordan does a respectable job of leading the charge of this ensemble, making him one of the stronger leading men in movies today. They even give him a bit of a beard to take care of that weak chin of his, making him look all the more classically heroic. But not only does Jordan fill out the form of the lead, but he conveys some overly complex emotions throughout in both roles as well.

The rest of the cast is strong too. Though I haven’t seen the actor in a while, Delroy Lindo is believable as the old bluesman with a weakness for alcohol. He has one of the funnier lines in the movie, but he also embodies that old soul you would expect from someone who has given his life to liquor and music. Hailee Steinfeld also gives a robust performance as Mary, a white-looking woman with a half-Black father who is just white enough to stand out in the Black crowd of partygoers but still has that tough edge to make sure she gets no shit about it. As usual LOVECRAFT COUNTRY/LUTHER actor Wunmi Mosaku also shines as Annie who has a tragic backstory with Smoke that proves to be one of the more heart wrenching subplots of the film. Miles Caton also does a fantastic job in what looks to be his first performance. While he has some growth to do as an actor, his musical talent and voice is one of the highlights of the movie. Finally, Jack O’Connell as Remmick plays a terrifying villain that is unique from many performances from similar kinds of monsters in past films.

The music in SINNERS is a star of its own. Not only do we get some fantastic blues music, but in one particular scene Coogler expands the scope even further to show how African American music has evolved through the ages. It’s a wonderful risky scene that could have landed with a thump, but Coogler commits to this amalgamation of authentic African music to blues to a Hendrix-esque guitar solo to the seeds that birthed modern rap music. This is an amazing scene and another reason this is a film that transcends genres and immerses the viewer in a culture like never seen before in film.

But one of the most impressive scenes in SINNERS is not a look at African culture, but Coogler shifts the focus to Irish music as Remmick sings a traditional Irish song and his followers dance a jig in a circle around him. It is a stunning turn in the film that is integral to the plot and another wonderful showcase of a culture not often seen in mainstream films. The film does sport a great commentary about how music is one of the things that brings groups together. Like the best of stories, it is passed down and shaped from one generation to the next. I could write an entire review focusing solely on the music of SINNERS, but instead I’ll just steer you to the soundtrack to experience this wonderful amalgamation of culture yourself.

Full of action, lots of blood, amazing musical moments, and great performances, one would think it would be difficult to wrap up an expansive movie like SINNERS. And one would be correct. Unfortunately, SINNERS suffers from LORD OF THE RINGS syndrome. The film has multiple endings, crossing every I and dotting every T, and addressing plot points and subplots that prove to be overkill. There are about four to five endings to SINNERS scattered during the ultimate moments before the credits and then on through the credits and just in case you didn’t get enough, one last snippet at the very end after the credits. The thing is, SINNERS just doesn’t need all of this back matter. There is an obvious point that I won’t reveal where the film could have ended, and SINNERS would have been an almost perfect movie. But the self-indulgent stuff at the end really wraps things up on a sour note. There’s an over-the-top scene just before the credits which is the equivalent of the final scene of Candyman killing the police officers in the remake or the “unlearn” message over the flag at the end of HIGHER LEARNING. MESSAGE This kind of in-your-face message about race just doesn’t work in this highly nuanced way the issue is dealt with in the rest of the movie and serves only as a way to make the dimmest in the crowd cheer like performing seals. MESSAGE. It’s frustrating that, in the last moments, Coogler chose to go for the easy applause rather than match the smarter tone of the rest of the movie. MESSAGE.

Extraneous and self-indulgent message endings aside, SINNERS still is an amazing achievement. It’s filled with epic moments of music, gore, drama, and culture. I’ve heard that horror is one of Coogler’s favorite genres and that can only mean we are going to see horror on a whole new level of sophistication in his future endeavors. At least I hope so. Whether SINNERS is his last or first in an extensive line of many, it’s a great film that feels like a living, breathing being. A movie you feel as much as entertained with. Especially when listened to loudly. Believe the hype. SINNERS is a good one.

Worth Noting: PATER NOSTER AND THE MISSION OF LIGHT (2024)

Released on October 2, 2024 and available On Demand from Amazon Prime from Films Colacitta!
Directed/Written by Christopher Bickel.
Check out the trailer here!!

When a customer with a rare album from the hippie band Pater Noster and the Mission of Light comes in a record store to trade his wares, a young clerk named Max (Adara Starr) flips out as she is a huge fan of this obscure band. When Max finally gets her hands on a copy of the album, her interest becomes noticed by the band, which has taken residence in a commune in the countryside outside of town. Max gets an invite to come visit the commune and watch the band play, but she won’t go unless the rest of her hipster chick pals can come with (plus a dude they pick up at a bar who is into the band too). The group shows up to the commune and while the people who greet them are eccentrics, the gals and their token dude think everything is cool. But everything definitely is not cool with this weird hippie commune secluded in the middle of the woods.

While watching a film, I often like to boil it down to its basic elements, mainly because I am always interested in what inspired filmmakers to do what they do. PATER NOSTER AND THE MISSION OF LIGHT is definitely a distinct and potent recipe consisting of equal parts TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, MIDSOMMER, 2,000 MANIACS, THE DEVIL’S RAIN, THE WIZARD OF GORE, CLERKS, and HIGH FIDELITY all put on a mixtape and played loud in a sweaty van barreling down the highway. Yeah, that just about sums this one up. The film definitely has that nineties slacker vibe down pat with the clerks in a record store hanging out, judging customers, and pontificating about life, love, and rock and roll. While it is cliché by now, I have to admit, I enjoyed these opening moments where the group are simply going about their day because A) they’re a bunch of hot hipster chicks who love music and B) I find that type of gal quite appealing.

Now, I do know that these gals are going to annoy some with their too-cool-for-school attitudes. They are the type who sneer at you and judge you immediately after a quick scan of your outfit and that kind of vapid attitude is quite the turn off. We see it happen quite a few times in the opening moments with some admittedly freaky customers, which was kind of cool in the nineties, but seems rather shallow and cruel in this modern day and age. Not saying this type of judgmental behavior doesn’t still go on. It does, but apathetic hipsters just aren’t as cute as they were a decade or so ago. Maybe it’s my age talking, but it is true.

Luckily the bright-eyed Max is the optimist of this group of cool kittens and Adara Starr really steals the show with her devil-may-care attitude and undeniable love for music. Her boppy and upbeat performance elevates her above looking down on everyone else, like the rest of her pals do. Starr by far is the most likable of the bunch, making her a final girl worth rooting for. The rest of the gals are ok, but each have an acidic tone that made me eager to see them perish in procession once at the commune. The hippies at the commune range from goofy to downright macabre. Though much of the hippies’ acting feels amateur, they do convey the touchy-feely, doped out vibe we all know and despise about the hippie culture. So, in that way, they are convincing. Pater Noster himself, played by Mike Amason, is equally convincing as the patriarch of the commune. Though he looks like he could make extra bucks working as a department store Santa, the extreme closeups of the guy does convey the creep.

What I really liked about PATER NOSTER AND THE MISSION OF LIGHT is that it feels like a movie I would have rented as a kid at the video store. There’s definitely a strong H.G. Lewis vibe going on as the hipsters are picked off one by one by the hippies, all leading to an over-the-top gory finale that screams spectacle, not unlike Lewis’ classics WIZARD OF GORE and BLOOD FEAST, here nothing is left unsoaked with blood. It is this balls-out ending with some truly disturbing body horror that won me over on this film.

This is a low budgeter. So don’t expect the best sound, acting, and edits. But PATER NOSTER AND THE MISSION OF LIGHT does have a pretty awesome soundtrack, a few likable characters, and one hell of a bloody ending. Despite the budget, the ideas are strong and unique, presented in a way that feels retro as all get out. Sit back, smoke a doob, get Judgy and watch the carnage.

The Best in Horror Countdown 2024-2025
#31 – GET AWAY (DARK MATCH)
#30 – PABRIK GULA (#MISSINGCOUPLE)
#29 – YULE LOG 2: BRANCHIN’ OUT (THE LAST VIDEO STORE)
#28 – FREWAKA (THE SURRENDER)
#27 – FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES (V/H/S/BEYOND)
#26 – ALMA AND THE WOLF (CUSTOM)
#25 – LOOKY-LOO (THE CREEP TAPES)
#24 – DANGEROUS ANIMALS (THE MAN IN THE WHITE VAN)
#23 – THE MONKEY (THE DAMNED)
#22 – THE DEVIL AND THE DAYLONG BROTHERS (THE SEVERED SUN)
#21 – TERRIFIER 3 (CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD)
#20 – PRESENCE (HOUSE ON EDEN)
#19 – THE RULE OF JENNY PEN (GRAFTED)
#18 – PARVULOS: CHILDREN OF THE APOCALYPSE (AZRAEL)
#17 – MADS (A MOTHER’S EMBRACE)
#16 – STRANGE HARVEST (THE ASMA JOURNALS)
#15 – DEUS IRAE (SHADOW OF GOD)
#14 – TOGETHER (CANNIBAL MUCKBANG)
#13 – SMILE 2 (THE STRANGERS CHAPTER 2)
#12 – COMPANION (THE DEAD THING)
#11 – BEST WISHES TO ALL (DELICATE ARCH)
#10 – NOSFERATU (ABRAHAM’S BOYS)
#9 – FOUND FOOTAGE: THE MAKING OF THE PATTERSON PROJECT (ABOVE THE KNEE)
#8 – HERETIC (DEAD MAIL)
#7 – TRAUMATIKA (IT FEEDS)
#6 – SINNERS (PATER NOSTER AND THE MISSION OF LIGHT)