The Devil Has No Dominion In Holy Waters: Witnessing The Sacredness Of ‘Sinners’

Ryan Coogler’s Sinners premiered on April 18 and made box office history, garnering critical acclaim for its heartfelt story, homage to blues music and U.S. Black Southern culture, captivating cinematography, sound design, and the actors who brought it all to life. Coogler takes us back to 1932 in the Mississippi Delta, with some of the liveliest church-going, harmonica-blowing, juke joint-jamming sinners thirsting for a holy oasis in bottles of whiskey and corn liquor at Smoke’s and Stack’s Club Juke. While bloodthirsty vampires threaten to drag them to the underworld, the film reminds us that the devil has no dominion in holy waters, as the sinners journey through and between the secular and sacred, baptizing souls with corn liquor, pure spiritual milk, pickled garlic, and the Lord’s Prayer to repel the dominion of the evil vampires.