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Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, a recently released vampire horror movie set in the 1930s, is absolutely killing it at the box office. Having earned more than $300 million worldwide at the time of writing, Sinners is now ranked the #6 horror movie in the past five years, and the highest-ranking horror movie this year, at least thus far. Sinners follows two twins, Smoke and Stack (masterfully portrayed by Michael B. Jordan), who return to Clarksdale, Mississippi, after eight years in Chicago, with the intention of opening their own juke joint.

Beyond its vampires, which account for the horror element of the film, Sinners is actually steeped in the 1920s and 1930s American history. Because of that, the film also depicts the brothers’ troubles with systemic racism plaguing the entire country, while also referencing a few real historical figures. These include the father of the Delta Blues Charlie Patton and the iconic Chicago gangster Al Capone. The mention of the latter heavily implies that Smoke and Stack were, or at least set out to become, associated with the notorious Chicago Outfit.

The first half of the movie is largely dedicated to Smoke and Stack buying a sawmill from the racist landowner Hogwood to open their own juke joint for the local Black community. The movie then follows the two as they make arrangements for the opening night of their new business. One of Clarksdale’s residents recognizes Smoke and asks why he isn’t in Chicago working for Capone. This is a brief mention that’s easy to miss, but it implies that Smoke and Stack’s success resulted from gang affiliations and association with Capone’s criminal empire.  

Al Capone, the infamous gangster, led the Chicago Outfit, a powerful Italian American crime syndicate, alongside Johnny Torrio in the 1920s, until his imprisonment in 1931. At its peak, the syndicate was involved in a wide array of criminal enterprises, including bootlegging, illegal gambling, prostitution, loansharking, extortion, political corruption, and drug trafficking. While its leadership was mostly Italian American, the broader operation was far more diverse than pop culture often suggests.

The truth is that Al Capone regularly employed people and groups of many backgrounds, including Black, Polish, Jewish, and other ethnicities, as trusted associates and essential cogs of his crime machinery. This inclusivity didn’t stem from political correctness or any sense of moral enlightenment. Instead, it was rooted in pure pragmatism, as Capone’s vast bootlegging, gambling, and racketeering empire needed a wide network to keep the operation running smoothly and profitably.

Furthermore, Scarface (Capone survived a knife to the face) was known for working with just about anyone who could help expand his power and profits while leading the Chicago Outfit. So, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that Smoke and Stack were associated with the mob during their time in Chicago. The mere mention of Al Capone adds a ton to Smoke and Stack’s backstory and signals that the twins’ time in Chicago involved direct contact with the city’s underworld, likely as associates of Capone’s Outfit.

Sadly, the movie never actually reveals whether or not it was true Smoke and Stack worked with Capone during their time in Chicago. Given that the narrative is set in 1932, one year after Capone was convicted for tax evasion, it’s entirely possible that they returned home following Capone’s downfall as the head of the Chicago Outfit. However, it’s also possible that the resident who engaged Smoke simply assumed that the brothers, who had gained a reputation even before they went to Chicago, were, at least at one point, associated with the criminal organization.

We also have to take the fact that the brothers returned to Clarksdale with plenty of cash and a truckload of Irish beer and Italian wine, which further implies that the twins had gang ties in Chicago. Now, just how they got their hands on that liquor remains a mystery. It’s entirely possible that they took the opportunity in the midst of Al Capone’s arrest to derail a shipment of alcohol their way.

One thing the film doesn’t fail to specify is the brothers’ good business sense (Smoke especially), but given their ties to a world of vice, it becomes quite obvious that they didn’t come by the money and booze to open the juke joint through any honest means. And opening the joint fast and getting rid of the alcohol by serving it to patrons could just be another way of dealing with the evidence of their crimes. Whatever the case may be, the opening night eventually comes, and everyone’s having fun while Sammie, an aspiring guitarist, plays his music.

The music ends up attracting the attention of the Irish-immigrant vampire Remmick and his minions, and from there on, the night turns into pure supernatural chaos. But perhaps the most damning (pun fully intended) bit of evidence suggesting Smoke and Stacks connection to Chicago’s most famous gangster would be Stack’s use of the Tommy Gun towards the end of the movie. As this weapon was nearly synonymous with Chicago gangsterism back then, it’s quite possible that this smoking gun (pun not intended here) is what makes the final connection to the gangland itself.

In the end, Sinners is a beautifully detailed movie; it’s a blend of several genres ultimately bathed in blood and horror. While its historical context and the mention of a few historical figures are integral to the film’s plot, its crime drama, historical realism, and horror teach us that the true terror lies not in fantasy monsters but in human cruelty and white devilry, as we’ve previously discussed.

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