7 Movies (Plus a TV Show) Like ‘Sinners’ to Watch Next

Can’t get enough of Ryan Coolger’s “Sinners?”

You aren’t alone. The visionary vampire movie, which made over $180 million at the box office, is a genuine cultural phenomenon. Quite frankly, it’s enough to make you want to repeat the experience of watching “Sinners” at home, without, you know, the 70mm print and IMAX-certified screen.

But fear not, there are plenty of “Sinners”-adjacent material to watch at home, along with some of the other movies that Coogler has cited in the run-up to the movie’s release. (We didn’t write up “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” but you should obviously watch it if you haven’t seen it, especially through the prism of “Sinners.”)

“Sinners” is a singular work of staggering genius, but here are a bunch of movies that will at least partially scratch that itch – at least until you can get back to the theater to watch Michael B. Jordan raise some more hell.

“From Dusk till Dawn” (1996)

This is, perhaps, the most easily comparable movie to “Sinners” because of its dramatic tonal shift midway through the movie, its principal setting being a rowdy roadhouse (not too far from a Southern juke joint) and the fact that it has many, many vampires. It is also, like “Sinners,” incredibly horny. If you’ve never seen “From Dusk till Dawn,” which was written by Quentin Tarantino (who also co-stars) and directed by Robert Rodriguez, it follows a pair of dastardly criminal brothers (George Clooney and Tarantino), who kidnap a family (led by Harvey Keitel) and hide out in a fairly disgusting Mexican roadside bar. What they don’t know is that the bar is run by vampires and they have to make it until dawn in order to survive. Like “Sinners,” “From Dusk till Dawn” is filled with nifty practical effects and creatures, and is a hell of a ride. It lacks the emotional complexity and cultural depth of “Sinners,” but it’s good for a good, outrageous hit of midnight movie fun.

“From Dusk till Dawn” is streaming on Pluto, Hoopla and Prime Video.

“Assault on Precinct 13” (1976) and “The Thing” (1982)

The spirit of John Carpenter looms large over “Sinners” (there’s a reason Coogler thanked the legendary genre filmmaker in his letter this week), but the two Carpenter works that relate the most directly to “Sinners” are “Assault on Precinct 13” and “The Thing.” “Assault on Precinct 13,” Carpenter’s first true feature after expanding his student film “Dark Star” into a lengthier project, shares the siege movie structure that “Sinners” eventually settles into, along with its sense of mounting tension. And Carpenter’s “The Thing,” an adaptation of John W. Campbell’s 1938 novella “Who Goes There?,” is even more intertwined with “Sinners.” “The Thing” and “Sinners” contain the same mounting paranoia, as an otherworldly threat infiltrates a group of normal humans. The garlic scene from “Sinners,” when our heroes all chomp on a clove to prove that they aren’t a vampire, is a direct quote of the famous “blood test” sequence from “The Thing.” Game recognizes game.

Bonus recommendation: “The Faculty,” Robert Rodriguez’s rowdy 1998 alien invasion teen movie, which also has a scene like the garlic/blood test scene and owes a similar debt to “The Thing.” It’s a ton of fun and Shout! Studios recently released a killer 4K disc that is very much worth picking up.

“Assault on Precinct 13” is streaming on Pluto TV, Prime Video and Peacock. “The Thing” is streaming on Prime Video and MGM+. “The Faculty” is streaming on Prime Video and MGM+.

“Don’t Look Now” (1973)

Nicolas Roeg’s “Don’t Look Now,” based on the story by Daphne du Maurier (who also inspired Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rebecca” and “The Birds”), is one of the greatest movies ever. The fact that it’s also one of the most deeply terrifying movies of all time is just a bonus. Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie play a couple mourning the drowning death of their child, which makes up the movie’s breathless prologue. They travel to Venice where Sutherland is working on restoring a church; while there Christie comes under the sway of a pair of psychic sisters. All of this is happening at the same time that a ruthless serial killer is terrorizing the city. Coogler cited the movie in our interview with him as the inspiration for the relationship between Smoke and Annie (Wunmi Mosaku), who have also lost a child. (Annie is similarly connected to the spiritual side, just like the psychics that help Christie.) If you need an excuse to re-watch “Don’t Look Now” – or watch it for the first time – consider this it!

“Don’t Look Now” is streaming on Kanopy.

“Green Room” (2015)

“Greem Room” has a lot in common with “Sinners,” including the siege movie structure (see also: “Assault on Precinct 13”) and its inherent interest in and exploration of music. Instead of blues musicians, “Green Room” focuses on a group of punk singers (led by the late, great Anton Yelchin), who wind up playing at a Nazi bar in the Pacific Northwest. When they piss off the Nazis (led by a wonderfully against-type Patrick Stewart), it’s an all-night fight for survival. Coogler was so impressed with “Green Room” that he hired the make-up effects artists from that film for “Sinners.” We recently spoke with “Green Room” director Jeremy Saulnier, who hadn’t seen “Sinners” yet (but was very excited t0). He said, “That ‘Green Room’ and specifically the make-up team from that film are getting their flowers, it’s so cool to see.” Yes, it is! Because “Green Room” is a great movie and hopefully it will have even more fans after Coogler has been singing its praises.

“Green Room” is available to rent or buy wherever you get your movies digitally.

“’Salem’s Lot” (1979)

Coogler has cited Stephen King generally and “’Salem’s Lot” specifically in the lead-up to “Sinners” and it’s easy to see why – King’s gargantuan novel (his second published after “Carrie”) follows an evil vampire as it invades and corrupts a small Northeastern town called Jarusalem’s Lot. Sound familiar? Coogler is clearly emulating the novel in the emphasis on the small town (and all the interpersonal narratives contained therein) along with the idea of a master vampire haunting said town. The novel has been adapted several times, most recently as a direct-to-Max streaming movie last Halloween, but the best version is still the 1979 miniseries directed by “Texas Chain Saw Massacre” filmmaker Tobe Hooper. The reason? He is able to take the time to focus on all the townspeople and the connections to each other. It’s also pretty scary too. Give it a whirl.

“’Salem’s Lot” is available to rent or buy wherever you get your movies digitally.

“The Twilight Zone” (specifically season 3 episode “The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank”) (1962)

“The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank,” the 88^th episode of Rod Serling’s classic anthology series “The Twilight Zone,” feels very much like the prototype for what “Sinners” is. One of only three episodes written and directed by Montgomery Pittman, all during the show’s third season, the episode follows the title character, who dies and is buried and then, at his funeral, rises from the grave. The 1920s townspeople are suspicious, and the man is confused too. While the episode is played mostly straight (and in the epilogue, Serling says that the man became the father to a prominent United States senator), there are indications that he could be something else. Both words used for the creatures in “Sinners” – “haint” and “vampire” – are utilized here. And it’s just a great episode of television that, like all classic “Twilight Zone” installments, keeps you guessing until the very end.

“The Twilight Zone” is streaming on Paramount+.

“The Lost Boys” (1987)

“The Lost Boys” is a vampire musical in the same way that “Sinners” is a vampire musical. The movie is heavily indebted to music, in this instance, the various sounds of the 1980s (everything from the sax-heavy Tim Cappello joint “I Still Believe” to a slaughter sequence set to Run DMC and Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way”), without ever being an out-and-out song-and-dance musical. (Thomas Newman’s rousing score is also super fun and effective, just like Ludwig Göransson’s music for “Sinners.”) The vampires are similarly creepy and stylish. And like in “Sinners,” the vibes associated with “The Lost Boys” are exquisite. These are just the coolest.

Bonus recommendation: “Queen of the Damned,” Michael Rymer’s 2002 adaptation of the Ann Rice novel that served as a sequel to “Interview with the Vampire.” This is a more literal vampire musical, with songs by Korn mastermind Jonathan Davis, but it also sucks a lot more than “The Lost Boys.” Still – the promotional material for the next season of the AMC series “Interview with the Vampire” points to it adapting “Queen of the Damned,” so maybe it’s time you watch the crummy cinematic version before the undoubtedly much-better small-screen take.

“’The Lost Boys” is available to rent or buy wherever you get your movies digitally. “Queen of the Damned” is streaming on Paramount+ and Hoopla.

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