"Sinners" could mark a turning point for horror at the Academy Awards. Ryan Coogler’s new film will change the Oscar conversation.

The film represents a departure for the “Black Panther” director, and a creative risk; it grapples with ideas about music, race, family, religion—and vampires.

In a world where legacy is so often tied to blood, pain, and repetition, Sinners offers something radical: the idea that you can write your own ending. That music, which is honest, human, and handmade, might be the only way to break the cycle. In Sinners, that’s the real miracle: not eternal life, but a meaningful one.