The Main Villain of Ryan Coogler's Box-Office Hit 'Sinners' Isn't Just a Cool Irish Vampire — He's a Symbol With Centuries of Meaning

Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Sinners.The Delta blues and Black history are significant to the heroes in Sinners, but director Ryan Coogler makes a unique choice in who represents the horror of the supernatural that creeps in. Irish culture takes on a major role in the performance by Jack O’Connell as the master vampire Remmick, who leads his undead horde into playing traditional folk music and dance when they aren't sucking the blood from prey. Coogler’s approach to vampires ends up becoming a threat that isn’t the more obvious form of racism that looms over the story, and the director had a very good reason for blending Irish culture with vampire lore, including his personal love for the music genre and the real-life history of the Irish and African-American communities.