As Hollywood continues to celebrate the film Sinners, a number of Christian leaders are urging believers to exercise spiritual discernment, warning that cultural acclaim does not neutralize spiritual danger.
The Ryan Coogler-directed film received two awards at Sunday night’s Golden Globe Awards after earning seven nominations, the third most among films this year. Sinners won the Cinematic and Box Office Achievement award, a category introduced in 2024 to recognize commercially successful films often overlooked by award shows. The movie grossed nearly $280 million domestically and finished as the No. 7 film of the year in the United States, while earning a rare 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
But while the industry applauds the film’s success, Dr. Kynan Bridges, bestselling author, apostolic leader and senior pastor of Grace & Peace Global Fellowship, says Christians should be deeply troubled by what the film celebrates beneath the surface.
“I want to tell you the shocking truth about the recent Ryan Coogler film called Sinners,” Bridges said in a video message recorded while traveling. “The truth of the matter is the film is disturbing.”
Bridges acknowledged the film’s artistic achievements and box office dominance, noting its critical acclaim and massive popularity. However, he warned that the danger lies not in the craftsmanship but in the spiritual worldview being promoted.
“What’s more disturbing about this film is people’s response to it,” he said. “The blind buy-in, especially from the African-American community, is what concerns me.”
The film, which follows twin brothers returning to their hometown to open a juke joint amid threats from the Ku Klux Klan and vampires, is layered with symbolism Bridges says should not be ignored.
“The elements in the film and the symbolism in the film represent a departure from Christianity and Judeo-Christian ethics into African spiritism, voodoo, hoodoo, witchcraft,” Bridges said. “These things were deified and glamorized. They were glorified in this film.”
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According to Bridges, Sinners goes far beyond fictional horror tropes and instead presents practices Scripture clearly condemns.
“There’s a scene in the film where the main character is singing a blues song, but the song opens up a spiritual portal,” he said. “All these ancient ancestral performers manifest themselves. That’s not harmless symbolism. That’s necromancy. That’s divination.”
Bridges pointed specifically to the portrayal of music as a spiritual conduit, referencing interviews in which Coogler described feeling the presence of deceased relatives through jazz music.
“This is necromancing, y’all,” Bridges said. “It’s divination.”
The pastor also criticized what he described as ethnocentrism disguised as empowerment.
“We’re being sold the spirit of ancestral worship under the guise of black identity, under the guise of black empowerment,” he said. “No matter what is done, as long as it’s called empowerment, people think it’s good. That is dangerous.”
While acknowledging Coogler’s talent and the film’s technical excellence, Bridges emphasized that artistic skill does not sanctify spiritual content.
“Skill is skill,” he said. “I’m not taking away from the cinematography or the angles. But what I’m concerned about is the idolatry of demonic belief systems and the promotion of sensuality and perversion.”
At its core, Bridges said, the film’s message is a rejection of Christ.
“The essence of the movie Sinners is the rejection of Christ,” he said. “The main character is a preacher’s son who rejects the call of God, rejects ministry, rejects Christ, and chooses the world.”
Although Sinners fell short in categories such as best drama, best actor, best screenplay and best director, Bridges said the film’s cultural influence remains significant and spiritually troubling.
“This film is an ode to the old adage that art imitates life,” he said. “This is where we are now.”
Bridges warned that Christians cannot afford to passively consume culture without discernment.
“The demonic is not something we play with,” he said. “It’s something we warfare against in the spiritual realm.”
He concluded with a sobering assessment of the broader cultural moment.
“There is a rejection of Christianity. There is a rejection of God,” Bridges said. “And I believe this is the problem we are facing right now.”
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a background in journalism from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine.
