A vampire film set in 1930s Mississippi may seem out of left field for director Ryan Coogler. But its personal ties to the story and explorations of race and belonging are consistent with his four other feature films,

Ryan Coogler is explaining how he pulled off a magic trick. He's not talking about convincing Warner Bros. to greenlight "Sinners," a $90-million blues-steeped thriller about vampires descending on a small Southern town in the 1930s.

Ryan Coogler has created his masterpiece in “Sinners,” a blues-infused celebration of America’s roots wrapped in a vampire story.