Now that 'Sinners' (2025) is out digitally, it's back on social media, especially Twitter / X. For some spoiler-free context, this is a great vampire movie with racial and mystical themes, which I consider to be the best of the year so far.
And we can't talk about this great film without mentioning one of its best characters, its main antagonist and, in my opinion, the supporting character who totally stole the show. And yes, we're talking about Remmick, the mysterious Irish vampire who wanted to suck blood and end racism. Spoilers begin here, beware.
Remmick is magnificently played by Jack O'Connell. He's a charismatic figure, a show-stopper who fills the screen, a born leader among the creatures of the night. Remmick is the kind of guy who, when he speaks, everyone shuts up so they can hear what he has to say. Or, in the case of this film, sing.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Remmick's origins are a mystery; we only know that he's Irish and a vampire. Somehow, he made his way to the United States and ended up in Mississippi. There, hunters from the Choctaw tribe find him and start beating him up. But Remmick manages to escape and find refuge in the home of a white couple, members of the Klan.
And, as the sun sets, Remmick turns this couple into vampires, and they head out, presumably in search of more victims. This is when they hear Sammie's guitar playing during the opening of the tavern in the barn. Sammie has the rare ability to summon spirits from the past and future, and these evil spirits inhabiting the bodies of Remmick and the couple probably sensed it as well.
This is when they try, unsuccessfully, to get invited to the party. And this is when we see Remmick's entire signature repertoire, because he's not only a great country singer, but also innately funny. They question him about his Klan membership, and he delivers a speech about equality and opposition to segregation, but the best part of the scene is his body language and expressions. He nailed it right there.
Apparently, Remmick has been doing his thing for centuries, and he's got gold. Because of course, if you've been living on this planet for centuries and haven't made a personal fortune, you should be walking straight into the sunlight. One thing leads to another, and all hell breaks loose, and that's when Remmick leads the new vampires in his "clan."
It turns out Ryan Coogler didn't just pull a villain out of his hat for a moment; he perfectly wrote a morally complex antagonist, as he's accustomed us to. And that's Remmick, a vampire who warns the black people in the barn about the Klan's plans the next morning and offers to attack them first, joining him as vampires, all being equal.
His idea of equality and fighting racism isn't all bad, but having everyone under his control for eternity doesn't sound so great. In fact, Remmick himself is a victim of British colonialism, and now he wants to extend that ideology in the form of conversion to vampirism, all equal but under his control.
But it is even more complex and deep in its entirety, if it is analyzed well. Being Irish, Remmick was also marginalized by the British, and empathizes well with the black community of the United States. He thinks that everything he is doing is fine and is correct.
Well, it doesn't end there, because while those left inside the barn try to find a way to survive the night, Remmick pulls a killer song out of nowhere. The scene of him singing and dancing in a group to the tune of ‘Rocky Road to Dublin’ is breathtaking, one of the best in the film. And him speaking perfect mandarin is pretty crazy, too.
Oh, and I almost forgot. On top of that, Remmick can fly, or at least jump really high. And that's not the scariest part, because while at first he comes across as a normal guy who just wants to make music, by the end, when he's hunting Sammie, he unleashes his claws and big teeth, and he's absurdly creepy. Wow, versatility.
In the end, the battle. Remmick tries to convert Sammie, to harness her spiritual abilities, but Smoke stabs him, and the sun does its thing. This is the end of a great character, very well written and excellently acted, who, at times, overshadowed the attention in a film I highly recommend. We'll miss you, Remmick.
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