Enter the world of Ryan Coogler’s Sinners at Halloween Horror Nights 35 in Universal Studios Florida.
Note: There are spoilers for the house below.
Location
The Sinners house is in Sprung Tent 3 in the World Expo area. The entrance is between Men in Black: Alien Attack and the Nightmare Fuel stage.
Sinners Film
Sinners is an R-rated film produced, written, and directed by Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Creed, Black Panther). Released in April 2025 after a slight delay, the genre-defying horror movie was critically acclaimed, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 97%, a CinemaScore of A, and a Metacritic score of 84 out of 100. It earned $370 million globally.
Set in 1932 Clarksdale, Mississippi, the film stars Michael B. Jordan in a dual role as twins Elijah “Smoke” and Elias “Stack” Moore. Back in their hometown after several years working for the Chicago mob, they recruit their younger cousin and blues musician Sammie (Preacher Boy) to help them open Club Juke.
The trio pick up various friends to help with opening night, including Smoke’s wife Annie (Wunmi Mosaku), bouncer Cornbread (Omar Benson Miller), musician Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo), and shopkeepers Grace Chow (Li Jun Li) and Bo Chow (Yao). Also at opening night are Stack’s ex-girlfriend Mary (Hailee Steinfeld) and Pearline (Jayme Lawson), a singer Sammie is infatuated with.
When Sammie performs at Club Juke, his music brings spirits of both the past and present to the party. Unfortunately, the performance attracts Irish vampire Remmick (Jack O’Connell), and the night becomes a massacre. The situation is complicated by an impending attack by the K.K.K.
The film tackles racism head-on, including the connections between African Americans, the Irish, and the Choctaw cultures in the 1930s. Though classified as a horror film, it incorporates elements of gangster, Southern Gothic, and musical stories.
Sinners Haunted House Description
It’s opening night at the Smokestack Twins’ juke joint. But the blues become red when a hive mind of bloodthirsty vampires crashes the party in this haunted house based on the original film, Sinners.
The house follows the plot of the film beginning at the Clarksdale train station. Guests see Preacher Boy (Sammie) on guitar and Delta Slim on harmonica via video effects. Around the corner are the Smokestack twins talking about the juke joint’s grand opening.
Then guests stumble on a remote farmhouse, where Remmick turns the residents into vampires. He and his thralls follow guests through cornstalks before they arrive at Club Juke.
Approaching the club, guests hear Preacher Boy singing “I Lied To You.”
Inside, the Surreal Montage comes to life featuring spirits from the future and past hovering around Sammie. The fire inside him goes from figurative to literal, and the juke joint appears to burn.
The juke joint falls to ruin and Remmick and his vampires enter, attacking the innocent clubbers. Guests see Mary as a vampire kill Stack before being shot by Smoke. Sammie shoots at vamps on the balcony as Annie stakes another one on the ground.
Exiting the club, Remmick flies at guests and Cornbread as a vampire jumps out. Guests hear Remmick and his vampires singing “Rocky Road to Dublin.”
Smoke stakes Remmick and the vampires burn in the morning sun. But they manage to take a few more swipes at guests before the house ends.
Sinners House Review
This is our least favorite house this year. The Sinners movie is lovely. It’s an excellent motion picture and an incredible piece of art. That’s why so many were excited about this house. But the movie just doesn’t translate well into a haunted house.
A few years ago, there was a house set in a similar region of the U.S. with the same musical overtones: The Darkest Deal. What worked so well for that house was the ability to change scenery and really work with the environment of the Mississippi Delta. You got the cornfield, the music venue, etc. It worked really well.
With Sinners, part of what makes the movie fantastic is that the first half is spent on character and story development before it shifts tone to horror. The problem is you can’t make a haunted house out of that first half.
There’s a vignette with the brothers at the start of the house that sets things up. The way it’s executed and portrayed by the actors is excellent. The problem then is we really only have two places to go.
There are plenty of characters in the movie, but it feels like the same characters in the house over and over again. The scares weren’t there.
The scene of Sammie on stage playing guitar has beautiful staging, wonderful scenic design, and incredible special effects work. It’s the highlight of the house. But the rest fell flat.
Regular HHN visitors will know that there are often changes throughout the season, and we hope that Sinners is able to get better.
Check out the HHN Sinners merchandise.
For more Universal Studios news from around the world, follow Universal Parks News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. For Disney Parks news, visit WDWNT.
The post REVIEW: ‘Sinners’ Haunted House Falls Flat at Halloween Horror Nights 35 appeared first on WDW News Today.
