By Brothers Smoke and Stack (Michael B. Jordan), return to their Mississippi home after finding success in Chicago. It is widely believed they took part in the Prohibition criminal scene there and return with dapper clothes, a car, and a reputation.
They decide to buy an old mill and turn it into a Juke Joint to offer music and illegal alcohol to all who can pay and have recruited their cousin Sammie (Miles Caton), to play for them.
The return of Smoke and Stack also brings with it their past as old romantic elements return and bring with them a new set of complications.
The movie spends a considerable amount of time in the first hour and change of establishing the characters and their motivations and then shifts gears to become a Horror film as Vampires have been summoned and have set upon the inhabitants of the Juke Joint forcing those left to fight for their lives.
The movie at times moves slowly as character traits are established and to remind audiences how in a poor and segregated time filled with racism and danger; individuals would resort to crime and violence to get ahead and survive. The arrival of the Vampire threat seems a bit unusual at first as so much time was spent on other elements almost like Coogler wanted to do a serious Drama and then said “now lets add Vampires”.
It comes across as a very creative and innovative idea although elements at time seemed to be a bit drawn-out and a segment at the end of the film might have worked a bit better in another place as it seemed a bit anti-climatic after the previous events.
Despite this, the music, visuals, and performances make the film a very interesting piece of cinema and ambitious projects such as this deserve to be seen and encouraged.
4 stars out of 5
