“Sinners” marks director Ryan Coogler’s first foray into the horror genre. The film stars Michael B. Jordan as twin brothers who return to their Mississippi hometown, only to be met with a chilling fate.
Spoiler alert: If you haven’t seen the film, you might want to pause here. But if you have, you know “Sinners” offers more than just eerie suspense—it digs into something deeper.
Beyond its thriller elements, the movie is grounded in cultural and historical realism. Specifically, “Sinners” weaves in elements of African diasporic practices and Black spirituality. While Jordan and Miles Caton lead the narrative, it’s Wunmi Mosaku’s character, Annie, who most vividly embodies these traditions.
“She’s hoodoo, she’s voodoo. She’s of African diasporic tradition,” Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter told 21Ninety. “She’s every part of where our origin story led us in terms of our religious practices.”
Using Annie’s Wardrobe to Tell a Deeper Story
Annie’s impact isn’t just felt through her lines or Mosaku’s emotional performance. Her wardrobe plays a key role in expressing her identity and cultural depth. Contrary to what many believe, costume design can be just as vital to character development as dialogue.
Carter shared that Annie’s wardrobe features a lot of blue—specifically teal and haint blue. She also layered Annie’s outfits to reflect her spiritual knowledge and depth. Carter purposefully selected each accessory and trinket to reinforce Annie’s role as a spiritual guide.
“She has her own mojo bag. She has a little compartment where she keeps her knives and scissors because she might have to cut off some roots. She’s got a chatelaine where she can have some holy water if she needs pickle juice or garlic to sprinkle on someone,” Carter said.
These items aren’t just props. Tthey help tell the story of Black people’s spiritual lineage. While “Sinners” is fictional, the practices represented through Annie are rooted in reality.
“We may not know them today, but if you’re a Black person, you have origins in the Southern cultural landscape. That’s the story she tells us. It includes how we survive and how we created something from the ground up,” Carter said.
Dark-Skinned, Plus-Size Representation
Annie’s role also pushes forward the conversation around representation in film. Especially for dark-skinned Black women in larger bodies. Hollywood has long pigeonholed actresses like Mosaku into roles that lack depth or perpetuate harmful stereotypes. But Annie defies that trend. She’s a leader, lives independently and shares a deeply layered relationship with Smoke, one of Jordan’s characters.
“She is the glue of the community and how they became aware of things. So we reflected that in her costume. What I really love the most is that she’s not a skinny model or a face that you normally see. She’s full-bodied and chocolate, which speaks to her bountifulness,” Carter said.