10 Movies To Watch if You Love ‘Sinners’

For a vampire story that leans more into the action and less toward the scares, a great option is the late ’90s action hit, Blade. Wesley Snipes stars as the titular Blade, a half-human, half-vampire who has sworn to hunt and kill vampires with the help of his mentor and partner Whistler (Kris Kristofferson). When ambitious vampire Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff) seeks to gain more power, Blade will need to use all of his training to stop him.

The combination of dynamic action, Snipes’ gravelly-voiced presence, and a stylized world of blood-suckers makes Blade a fun double feature to be paired with Sinners. Blade was an early hit for a Marvel Comics character before the MCU would turn into the dominant franchise of the next century. The success of the sleek vampire hunter flick would lead to a trilogy of films and a TV series, but the original film is the one that still holds up the best.

Blade

Release Date

August 21, 1998

Runtime

120 Minutes

8

‘Day Shift’ (2022)

Directed by J. J. Perry

For some, vampires are the scariest creatures to lurk in the shadows, but for people like Bud Jablonski (Jamie Foxx), killing vampires is just a way of making a living. Day Shift follows Bud as money troubles force him to rejoin the better-paying vampire-killing union. Saddled with an inexperienced union rep named Seth (Dave Franco) and forced to work the day shift, Bud begrudingly starts his way back up the vampire-killing corporate ladder.

For some vampire action with a much lighter tone, Day Shift works well for the less horror-inclined. There are still plenty of vampires attacking, but the film is structured with a buddy-cop formula to get maximum laughs out of the mismatch between Foxx and Franco. Day Shift was met with a lukewarm response from critics, but audiences were much kinder to the horror comedy, appreciating the talented cast mixing it up with the undead.

Day Shift

Release Date

August 12, 2022

Runtime

114minutes

7

‘Overlord’ (2018)

Directed by Julius Avery

World War II is the backdrop for the twisty horror genre mashup Overlord. When a group of U.S. soldiers crash-land behind enemy lines, they’ll learn the Nazis are more evil than they could imagine. After discovering secret experiments that create dangerous mutations, the soldiers will need more than conventional weapons to make it back home alive.

Overlord mixes a conventional war movie with a B-horror movie creature feature to offer a unique horror experience with unpredictable plot developments. Similarly to Sinners, Overlord allows the audience to bond with the characters and understand their personalities better before sending them into harm’s way. Even though the plot could swerve into ridiculous immersion-breaking territory, Overlord manages to balance all the different genre elements in a satisfying way.

Overlord

Release Date

November 1, 2018

Runtime

110 minutes

6

‘Rosewood’ (1997)

Directed by John Singleton

A lie leads to unspeakable violence and bloodshed in Rosewood. Based on the real-life Rosewood massacre in 1923, Rosewood follows the Black residents of the small Florida town as they come under attack from a hateful lynch mob. Ving Rhames stars as Mann, a World War I soldier who happens into the town of Rosewood as the fateful events take place, and rallies the townspeople to fight back.

Much like Sinners, Rosewood explores the racial tensions in rural America. Rosewood was the fourth film from acclaimed director John Singleton, and his first departure from a modern setting to tell his story. Although there is criticism of the film not being historically accurate, the story of Rosewood and the unjust attack on its townspeople informed many about the dark moment in history and led them to learn more.

Rosewood

Release Date

February 21, 1997

Runtime

140 minutes

5

‘Creed’ (2015)

Directed by Ryan Coogler

The Rocky franchise gets revived with new blood in the rousing boxing drama Creed. Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) is the son of Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), who looks to follow in his father’s footsteps as a professional boxer. Although the odds are stacked against him, Adonis seeks the help of his dad’s former opponent and friend, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), to help him train.

Sinners director Ryan Coogler and Jordan had previously worked together on Fruitvale Station, but the duo showed their ability to make a profitable, big-budget crowd-pleaser with Creed. The film captures the same underdog spirit that made the Rocky franchise one of the most beloved in cinema, and changing perspectives to a new main character made it accessible for a new generation. The success of the film has led to two sequels, and word is that a fourth is most likely to follow.

Creed

Release Date

November 25, 2015

Runtime

2h 13m

4

‘Near Dark’ (1987)

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

A roving pack of vampires struggles to trust their newest member in the horror western Near Dark. The film follows Caleb Colton (Adrian Pasdar), a man living in rural Oklahoma who falls for a mysterious young woman named Mae (Jenny Wright). When Mae bites Caleb on the neck, it’s revealed that she is a vampire who has now turned Caleb into one of her own. Her pack reluctantly agrees for him to join on a trial basis, but if Caleb doesn’t begin to kill, his time with them will be forcefully cut short.

While Near Dark didn’t make waves at the box office when it was first released, the film has gone on to become a cult classic for its unconventional approach to vampires. Pasdar and Wright each do a great job in the leading roles, but Near Dark will most commonly be remembered for Bill Paxton’s charismatic turn as the dangerous vampire Severen.

Near Dark

Release Date

October 2, 1987

Runtime

94 minutes

3

‘Candyman’ (1992)

Directed by Bernard Rose

An urban legend proves itself to be violently real in the horror cult classic Candyman. When student Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen) is researching urban legends, she discovers one referring to Candyman (Tony Todd), a ghost who violently attacks anyone who says his name five times in a mirror. Helen has no choice but to believe the stories as the vengeful Candyman first implicates her in his crimes, and then in his legend.

For those who love horror and have missed Candyman, now is a great time to see the late Todd in one of his most iconic roles. Candyman is easily more gory than Sinners is, but each explores racial cruelty, especially regarding a prior culture’s view on an interracial romance. Candyman led to two sequels, Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh and Candyman 3: Day of the Dead, along with a soft reboot of the franchise in 2021 starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

Candyman

Release Date

October 16, 1992

Runtime

100 Minutes

2

‘Us’ (2019)

Directed by Jordan Peele

A family vacation is disrupted by eerily similar attackers in director Jordan Peele’s Us. Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong’o) is enjoying a relaxing trip with her husband and children when a family that looks exactly like them appears in red jumpsuits with intentions of killing them all. Before the night is over, the Wilson family will learn that their situation is part of a much larger and disturbing plan.

With the twin horror action in Sinners, the doppleganger face-offs in Us might be just the right movie to watch as a companion piece. As the follow-up to Peele’s Get Out, expectations were high about what else the director had in store, and Us was warmly received by audiences and critics alike. Us may not answer all the questions the mystery lays out, but the confrontations between the red-jumpsuit-wearing twins are tense and memorable.

Us

Release Date

March 22, 2019

Runtime

116 Minutes

1

’30 Days of Night’ (2007)

Directed by David Slade

In 30 Days of Night, a remote Alaskan town is nearing an annual 30 days of darkness, which coincides with a pack of vampires descending on the town to feast freely. Led by Sheriff Eben Oleson (Josh Hartnett), the remaining townspeople work to survive the threat in a deadly game of cat and mouse with supernatural predators. Low on food and freezing, the survivors will resort to drastic measures in order to see the next sunrise.

Unlike Sinners, which focuses heavily on character building before the bloodshed, 30 Days of Night jumps into the action quickly. Based on the graphic novel of the same name, 30 Days of Night strips away the romantic notions of vampires and leaves only bloodthirsty monsters in human form. The combination of makeup and the performance of Danny Huston creates a memorable villain as the lead vampire, Marlow, giving audiences an imposing force that looks unbeatable.

NEXT: 10 Must-Watch Vampire Movies, Ranked