When Style Trumped Substance
In 2025, Sinners had one of the most intense discussions around it for the year—not necessarily because the film broke any new ground, but because it split audiences and critics alike. Independent film darling Miles Carrington directed Sinners, and through aggressive marketing that stated it was “the next Se7en” established a gritty psychological thriller with moral ambiguity, stunning cinematography, and fantastic performances.
Spoilers Ahead
In a rain-soaked neo-noir city, we follow deeply religious homicide detective Erin Voss (Florence Pugh) while she faces a gruesome past. As a series of ritualistic murders based on the seven deadly sins blues the city, she is thrust into a working relationship with the jaded FBI profiler Max Calder (Oscar Isaac).
The murder scenes play out grotesquely theatrical, for example, Gluttony depicts a man force-fed to death; Lust features a sex worker crucified to a wall, with red neon lights behind her. The killer, known as “The Priest,” leaves biblical verses at the scene of every crime.
As Voss spirals into obsession about solving the case, she learns every victim was connected by a secret society known as “The Pure,” whose doctrine stated that sin could be cleansed by extreme punishment through death.However, the real twist is when we learn in Act III that the murderer is in fact Voss’s estranged brother, Theo (Barry Keoghan), who is a former theology student who thinks he’s enacting divine justice.
A-List Talent, But Wasted
Florence Pugh brings the intensity she’s known for, but the script gives her little option in terms of emotional range other than being broody and guilty. Oscar Isaac is charming enough, but he feels like a watered down version of his role in Ex Machina and Barry Keoghan as Theo is entrancing but we hardly see him until the final act. The supporting roles, such as Zendaya as a hacker and Cillian Murphy as a corrupt bishop, are wasted.
Gorgeous But Vacuous
Sinners is nothing if not visually beautiful. The movie looks like a combination of muted tones, multiplex neon and icons of Christianity; definitely inspired by Blade Runner and The Crow. Cinematographer Linus Sandgren creates chilling visuals, particularly during the murders, which are almost lush, but grotesque.
The score is by Hildur_guonadottir and is cool and atmospheric but sometimes is so overbearing it feels like an attempt to mask narrative holes.
Religion, Redemption, &… Confusion
Sinners aspires towards a morality play. It aims to prompt inquiry about sin (and the justification of sin), justice, and if any act of violence can be holy, but lacks the delicacy of genre giants (which it references heavily) that pertain to these topics, for example, Se7en, Prisoners, or The Night Of. The concepts that the film engages with are imposed on the audience through preachy monologues or through use of biblical imagery, instead of being considered organically.
There is a possibility that the movie’s heaviest sin, and emphasis, is the failure to be clear regarding the director’s view. Is Voss heroic for stopping Tim? Or an accomplice to his madness? Sinners fails to settle on either side instead opting for murkiness posing as depth.
Fake Reviews and the Rotten Tomatoes Scandal
Scandal
What really lit the online discourse on fire was the exposure of fake positive reviews. Multiple anonymous critics posted positive 5-star reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and Letterboxd, calling it “a masterpiece of modern theology” and “the Se7en of this generation.”
A Reddit thread showed that most of those accounts were bot accounts, or associated with the film’s marketing team. This scandal sent social media into a tizzy, and #SinnersScam was trending for days on X (formerly known as Twitter).
The end result? Audiences felt taken advantage of. Many bought tickets thinking they’d see a thoughtful thriller, but instead were served what felt like a 2-hour ad for a new perfume with a Bible.
Critics vs. Audience: A Definitive Split
Critics score on Rotten Tomatoes: 61%.
Audience score: 37%.
IMDb score: 5.4/10.
Expecting some critics to actually praise the film for its ambition and visual aesthetics, with most agreeing that the story felt derivative and, above all, emotionally empty. The audience was much harsher, decrying it as all style and no substance.
Missed Chances
1. Lack of depth in antagonist:
While Theo has apparent motivations (abuse, religious trauma), none of it is examined more than superficially.
2. Misuse of female lead:
Detective Voss, much like Theo, had the potential to be one of the most iconic female characters to come to fruition in this genre. Instead, her arc was sacrificed for shock value and over-stylized hopelessness.
3. Momentum issues:
The pacing certainly flounders during the second act as it introduces too many unnecessary side characters, along with exposition dumps for some.
4. Philosophy without philosophy:
The film quotes scripture and Nietzsche, neither of which amounts to much more than “looks cool”.
Why Sinners Still Matters (Even with Everything Wrong with It)
Despite everything that is objectively wrong with this film, Sinners may serve as a case study for the current state of modern cinema. It demonstrates:
The peril of hype versus honesty
The acceleration at which at which visual language is moving, outpacing narrative technique
The increase in social media’s influence on how film and audience’s reception of it.
Closing Thoughts
⭐️ 2.5 out of 5 Stars A lovely mess with moments of brilliance but, in the end, too shallow to provide what it promised.
Watch it, if:
You love noir looks.
You are a Florence Pugh completionist.
You like dismembering movies that bombed.
Skip it if:
You are looking for real depth and narrative cohesion.
You are increasing frustrated with movies that think ambiguity equates to meaning.
Closing Thoughts:
Sinners is not the worst movie of 2025, but it is one of the more frustrating. At its heart, it has a wonderful cast, hypnotic visuals, and a solid premise that might have been genre-defining. Instead, it will be a cautionary tale about how contemporary cinema can contextualize, and elevate surface-level buzz over good storytelling.
FAQs
Is Sinners worth watching?
A: If you are interested in visual storytelling and can appreciate style over substance, yes. But don’t expect a satisfying story.
Why are people calling it a scam?
A: Because of the allegations of using fake reviews to artificially inflate its Rotten Tomatoes score prior to launch.
Is Sinners based on a book or true story?
A: No, this is an original screenplay, but makes plentiful use of religious texts and classic thrillers.
What was the intended ending?
A: An leaked script suggests that the intended ending was for Theo to escape, thus making a sequel possible. Supposedly, studio interference altered this.
What is Sinners (2025) about?
A: Sinners is a psychological thriller that centers on Detective Erin Voss who investigates a series of ritualistic murders based on the seven deadly sins, however, it leads her down a path of confronting a dark conspiracy—and her own demons too.
Who is the killer in Sinners?
A: Spoiler Alert: The killer ends up being Theo, Detective Voss’s estranged brother, who believes he is a divine punisher through murder.