0:03 Sinners is a masterclass in how to write
0:05 intelligent horror. And I'll tell you
0:07 what, there was a moment I became sold
0:09 on Sinners and knew I was in for
0:12 something special. I was half brace for
0:13 Mary to die because she wants to get it
0:16 on with Stack, as is the case in a lot
0:17 of horror where the first character dies
0:19 pretty much just because they're
0:21 promiscuous. And it's always a girl,
0:23 too, for some reason. But we didn't get
0:25 that. Instead, she goes out to the
0:27 vampires claiming she wants to see if
0:29 they have money to spend. Only Remick
0:31 sees right through her, saying she came
0:33 for a different reason entirely.
0:36 >> Cuz you're in some deep, deep pain that
0:38 money can't fix. You came over here for
0:40 fellowship and love.
0:42 >> Fellowship and love.
0:44 >> She feels the lack of a people that she
0:46 can identify with, so goes out to the
0:48 vampires in the naive hope that she
0:50 might find them there. It's such an
0:52 interesting mistake to lead to a
0:54 character's death. It underlines the
0:57 story's entire theme. And my god, wow.
0:59 Like what a way to do it. I am in awe.
1:01 And to see it from another angle, take a
1:03 moment that conventionally might be
1:05 called bad due to it being an out of
1:08 nowhere jump scare. Only it works really well.
1:09 well.
1:12 >> My son has felt the call of sin.
1:14 >> It works because this prologue is from
1:16 after the climax and his father is
1:19 reminding him of Remick the baddie. When
1:21 he looks at his dad, he is seeing the
1:23 big bad vampire because they both want
1:26 the same thing from him to cast away his
1:28 cultural roots. And this flash of a
1:30 scare primes the audience for Sammy's
1:32 internal struggle as well as the theme.
1:34 It's the opposite of cheap, and it's so
1:36 refreshing to see a horror that's
1:38 actually thoughtful with how it scares
1:40 the audience. This is really the core of
1:42 the film, the main reason why I'd call
1:44 this an intelligent horror. Because
1:46 while you'd think the Smoke Stack Twins
1:48 are the protagonists, it's really Sammy.
1:50 Every other character moves around him
1:52 as their own unique cog in this
1:54 sublimely written machine. He's why the
1:55 vampires came.
1:59 >> You're the one I came for. I sensed you.
2:01 I want to see my people again. I'm
2:03 trapped here. But your gifts can bring
2:04 them to me.
2:06 >> Sammi's struggle underpins everything
2:09 the movie is out to say. His gift with
2:10 music means he can help his people
2:12 connect with their culture. Meanwhile, a
2:14 whole bunch of characters are pushing
2:16 him to give all of that up. This comes
2:19 from Remick, but also his allies.
2:20 >> Well, you better enjoy the rest of the
2:23 night, cuz this your last juke. Drop the
2:25 guitar signal. Put it down in the name
2:26 of God.
2:28 >> His father is a preacher, a Christian,
2:30 and Christianity isn't a part of his
2:32 heritage. It's something that was forced
2:34 upon his people after their culture was
2:36 assimilated by the West. His father
2:38 didn't just choose assimilation. He
2:40 chose to leap in head first and convert
2:42 his community into believing the same
2:45 thing he does. Only Sammy's conflicted
2:47 because preaching doesn't really move
2:49 him. In fact, the only time he's ever
2:51 touched the divine is when he's playing
2:54 the blues. And why is that?
2:57 >> Blues wasn't forced on us like that
3:00 religion. No, sir. We brought this with
3:02 us home.
3:04 >> In fact, every major character has a
3:06 stance here. They land on either side of
3:08 choosing to preserve one's culture or
3:09 assimilate into the more dominant one
3:12 invading their lives. Sammy is stuck
3:14 right in the middle of this. The story's
3:16 big question when you strip all else
3:18 away is which side of the theme will
3:20 Sammy end up on. Everything I've laid
3:23 out is already really clever. It's hard
3:25 to find a horror film thinking about
3:27 things with this level of depth. But the
3:29 more we peel back the layers here, the
3:30 more you see how this permeates through
3:32 the minutiae of the story, you'll see
3:35 just how genius this writing is. Take
3:37 Annie. Out of everyone in the
3:39 production, she's the most in tune with
3:41 her heritage. No one is a bigger
3:43 believer in sticking with one's culture
3:45 than her. It is no coincidence that
3:47 she's the first to realize what their
3:48 weaknesses are by throwing the pickled
3:51 garlic. It's her who recognizes the true
3:52 nature of the threat.
3:55 >> These ain't hate,
3:56 they're vampires. The more in tune with
3:58 your rooms you are, the better you are
4:00 at noticing when they're under attack.
4:02 It makes intuitive sense. And take the
4:04 climax, she gets bitten and asks Smoke
4:07 to put a stake in her heart. She is the
4:09 only character to normally die during
4:12 the vampire threat, choosing death over
4:14 assimilation. Her convictions on the
4:15 theme are that strong.
4:17 >> That's what I'm talking about.
4:19 >> It's brilliant writing. Then take Smoke
4:21 and Stack. They both believe the
4:23 opposite here. Stack is totally okay
4:26 with embracing culture that isn't his.
4:28 Smoke isn't. When the vampires start
4:30 their first song, Stack is bobbing his
4:31 little head and he's having a great
4:33 time. While Smoke is unimpressed and
4:35 threatens them with his gun after Smoke
4:36 scares them off, Stack says,
4:38 >> "Y'all have a nice night."
4:40 >> Stack, when he tries to tempt Slim, uses
4:42 foreign goods to do it.
4:43 >> What you got there, boy?
4:45 >> What is this?
4:46 >> It's a Irish beer.
4:48 >> Smoke's love interest, meanwhile, is
4:50 Annie, the one most in touch with their
4:53 culture. the only person who dies and
4:55 doesn't end up a vampire. Stack's love
4:57 interest is Mary, the one least in touch
4:59 with their culture and the first to
5:02 become a vampire. It was perfect. Perfect.
5:02 Perfect.
5:04 >> And of course, let's look at Mary. She's
5:06 got black heritage, but she's mostly
5:08 white. And while most of the characters
5:09 are accommodating to her, there's this
5:11 undercurrent that she doesn't really fit
5:13 in. She lacks the same roots as
5:15 everybody else. She hasn't integrated
5:18 with any culture, not black or white,
5:20 making her especially easy prey to the
5:22 vampires. Like even the chalk tour,
5:24 they're only on screen for a bit. But
5:26 them being competent vampire hunters who
5:28 have Remik on the run when we first see
5:30 him isn't coincidental. These guys have
5:32 recognized Remic as the monster he is
5:34 and have totally rejected him, letting
5:36 us guess at their starts on the theme
5:38 one of total non-integration.
5:41 >> He's not what he seems.
5:43 God forbid you let him into your home.
5:45 This clicks well with the setting
5:46 because this was in the middle of the
5:48 residential school era when native
5:50 resistance saw a massive resurgence due
5:52 to how children were being taken away by
5:54 the government. But before I break it
5:56 down further, I reckon there is a
5:58 fundamental reason why Sinners is so
6:00 good. While a lot of horror out there
6:03 isn't. The core of it is because 80% of
6:05 what makes for a great horror story is
6:07 just what makes any great story. Deep
6:10 characters, rich themes, an exciting
6:12 plot. That remaining 20%, well, that's
6:14 whether or not it scares the audience
6:17 properly. And I say 80%, it's that high
6:19 because often a horror story is labeled
6:21 as one, but it isn't really that scary.
6:24 However, because it's still a welltold
6:27 story, people will love it. As a great
6:30 example, Sinners. It's definitely a
6:32 horror, but there aren't that many
6:33 moments in it that shake you to your
6:35 core with fright. Then you've got
6:37 Aliens, another great one. It was
6:39 nowhere near as scary as that first
6:41 film, but because the characters are so
6:43 good, the action is so fun, the plot's
6:45 so tight, few cared about the relative
6:48 lack of scares. For many people, they
6:50 prefer it to the original film. Now, I'm
6:52 not saying horror shouldn't be scary.
6:55 Obviously, being scary is a virtue here,
6:57 but writers have gotten so focused on
7:00 that 20%, asking, "How do we scare the
7:04 audience?" that they neglect every other
7:07 aspect of the story. If you ask me, this
7:10 is the real root of the rot in recent
7:13 horror. A great example is The Nun 2. If
7:14 you've never heard of it, that's fair.
7:16 It came out two years ago, and like most
7:18 horror films, is immediately forgotten
7:20 about because there's little special
7:22 about it. But in the film, they have
7:24 some good scares there, to be fair.
7:25 There's one where magazines are turning
7:27 in the wind, and the figure of an evil
7:32 nun gradually forms before grabbing her.
7:34 It's top stuff, very creative. But the
7:36 fact these little moments are the only
7:39 parts of this film anyone can remember
7:42 betrays the reason for its mediocrity.
7:44 These scares are where all of the focus
7:46 went into. So they're the only things
7:48 good about the film. But then take
7:50 Sinners. We got a good few scares in
7:59 This scare does a ton for the story. So
8:01 Cornbread walked off to use the toilet
8:04 ages ago. Everything went to hell and
8:06 he's finally come back a suspiciously
8:07 long time later.
8:08 >> Where the hell you been at now?
8:10 >> Then he asks to come in.
8:11 >> All right. Well, let me in so I can help.
8:12 help.
8:14 >> But they don't say yes, so he asks a
8:15 second time.
8:17 >> Just step aside and let me on in now.
8:19 >> And that gets them very suspicious. Why
8:22 does he need to be invited in? Then the
8:24 tensions ratchet up until he's told to
8:25 sod off. He demands they at least pay
8:28 him for the night's work. They do, and
8:30 that's when we get our scare. This isn't
8:32 some solitary fright. It's actually
8:34 integral to the story structure. It
8:36 comes at a point usually called fun and
8:37 games where they test out the rules of
8:39 the world and learn the true nature of
8:41 what they're facing. This whole scene
8:42 tells the characters that the vampires
8:44 can convincingly act as the people they
8:46 once were. And also the important rule
8:49 that vampires have to be invited in. But
8:51 most of all, it's the kick in the ass
8:53 the characters need telling them it's
8:55 time to prepare for a big fight. It
8:57 marks a key progression point in the
8:59 film. what the nun too and others of his
9:01 ilk did. It's a writing mistake I like
9:04 to call the flaw of moment to moment.
9:05 It's a common writing mistake in
9:07 general, but it has utterly plagued
9:09 recent horror. I've fallen for it
9:11 before, so has my fellow creator Nerd
9:13 Writer. In fact, in a video of his, he
9:14 put it quite beautifully. Most of the
9:16 student films I directed revolved around
9:19 a few moments that I thought were going
9:21 to blow people away. If I could just
9:23 navigate the story there, that would be
9:25 enough. The moment would do all the
9:27 work. then I'd just navigate to the next
9:30 one. For this reason, my student films
9:31 weren't that good.
9:33 >> But there's a great question people have
9:36 been asking. Why is Remik Irish? It's a
9:39 really interesting choice and even more
9:41 interesting. Why does he speak with an
9:42 American accent?
9:46 >> Can't Can't we just for one night
9:47 just all be family?
9:50 >> Only to reveal his Irishness alongside
9:58 It's because the Irish at the time were
9:59 looked down upon as the dregs of
10:02 society, secondclass citizens. There's a
10:04 reason Rick has an American accent even
10:06 deep into the climax when there's no
10:08 point putting up a front anymore because
10:10 he's assimilated into the American
10:12 culture and has lost touch with his own
10:14 roots. The Irish at the time evaded
10:16 their persecution in the US by in a
10:19 sense doing exactly what Remick did and
10:22 advocates for. Erase your identity and
10:25 assimilate. Vampirism is an allegory for
10:26 assimilating culture. It reflects the
10:28 cold truth how once you become a
10:30 vampire, you don't need to worry about
10:31 being hunted because you've joined the
10:34 group that's oppressing you. This is all
10:36 playing into setting, too, and why
10:38 choosing the right one is so often
10:40 underrated. Many writers get lazy with
10:42 it here. The cabin in the woods or
10:44 haunted house tropes are perfect
10:46 examples. I've yet to see a story where
10:48 it's a cabin in the woods and that
10:49 setting is anything other than a
10:51 justification for plot to happen because
10:54 it's isolated and they can't reach the
10:56 police. The setting should be bolstering
10:59 every aspect of the story, not just
11:01 plot. Remick being Irish, that aspect of
11:04 history at the time clicks so well with
11:06 the theme, as does the general setting,
11:09 the Jim Crow South, that core thematic
11:11 divide. It's not just permeating the
11:13 plot and the characters, but the setting
11:15 too. That of a segregated town still
11:16 living under the shadow of slavery
11:18 through sharecropping. These are a
11:20 displaced people, one struggling to put
11:22 down cultural roots without having those
11:25 roots be tainted by the loom of western
11:28 culture such as Christianity. It's the
11:30 perfect setting for this story. And a
11:33 moment that's just so good is the very
11:36 climax. A power tip. The way your hero
11:38 defeats the villain should underpin the
11:40 theme. Remix coming after Sammy and
11:42 Sammy starts praying. Christianity is
11:45 great at protecting from monsters. It
11:46 helps with exorcisms and usually stops
11:49 vampires in their tracks. But in this
11:52 story, it makes him happy. He joins in
11:54 with the prayer.
11:56 >> Give us this day our daily bread and
11:59 forgive us our
12:02 >> long ago the men who stole my father's
12:04 land forced these words upon earth. I
12:07 hated those men, but the words still
12:09 bring me comfort. This is all subverting
12:11 the normal vampire formula, but it works
12:13 because Christianity is something that
12:16 he assimilated himself. It's the main
12:18 religion of the dominant culture that's
12:20 been seeping into this town. It's
12:22 essentially everything that Remik stands
12:24 for. Sammy saying the Lord's Prayer to
12:26 protect from Remic is a sign that he
12:28 hasn't truly completed his arc. It
12:30 didn't work. So, what does Sammy do
12:33 next? He reaches for his guitar, a
12:35 symbol of his culture, and smacks Remic
12:38 with it. And it burns him terribly,
12:40 buying him the time he needs for smoke
12:42 to come save the day because it's got
12:44 silver in it. Now, that is some damn
12:47 fine symbolism. Sinners is a story
12:49 firing on all cylinders all the way
12:51 through. I've yet to see another horror
12:54 film like it, one that's so diligent
12:56 with how it handles its ideas. If there
12:58 had to be a big lesson to learn here is
13:00 that you shouldn't make the mistake of
13:01 thinking of your characters as one
13:03 thing, your themes is another, and your
13:05 setting as the other. All of these
13:07 elements in a great story, they should
13:10 be blending together. So much so, it
13:11 annoys any potential video essaist
13:13 trying to divide it all into neat
13:15 sections for their video because it's
13:18 all so seamless. So, I've been inactive
13:20 on the Closer Look for 5 months now, and
13:22 there's a reason why. I've been working
13:25 on the coolest video I have ever made
13:27 and it's called How to Write a
13:29 Psychopath. I noticed that while
13:31 everyone in their mum is making how to
13:33 write dialogue top 10 tips for character
13:35 arcs videos that more or less all blend
13:37 together, nobody is doing topic deep
13:40 dives on the really hard to write issues
13:42 that require a ton of research to get
13:46 right, like PTSD, autism, psychopathy,
13:48 largely because the effort required is
13:50 enormous. These are all topics I'm going
13:51 to tackle for you guys, and the amount
13:53 of scientific papers I had to read to
13:55 make that psychopath one made me a bit
13:58 crazy, but it's finally done. In it, I
13:59 break down why Hannibal Lectar is
14:02 actually incredibly unrealistic. Someone
14:05 like him has never existed. While Willy
14:07 Wonka is actually a textbook psychopath,
14:09 it's scary how well he fits the
14:12 diagnosis. I have never been more proud
14:14 of a video. I've never put more effort
14:15 into a video. And while it's ready for
14:17 you to watch, it's not on YouTube yet.
14:20 instead. It's out early on Nebula. I'm
14:22 doing something special with Nebula from
14:25 now on. I will always be one video ahead
14:26 there. You're going to have to wait a
14:28 while for the psychopath video to come
14:30 out because after it is another mega
14:32 video called Hollywood can't write
14:34 genius characters where I break down the
14:36 many, many ways people have screwed up
14:39 genius characters from Reed Richards to
14:41 Sherlock. If you'd like to watch How to
14:42 Write a Psychopath, all you got to do is
14:44 click that link in the description and
14:46 it will take you straight to my video on
14:48 Nebula. It's only $3 a month. It's
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14:54 all of my videos around a month early on
14:56 Nebula, there are a ton of great
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15:20 psychopath today. But thanks for watching.
