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This will be one of my favourite watches of the year and must be one of the best films of 2025. I have to start by saying that the music is the best part of the film for me. Blues music is one of the central themes of the film (alongside religion, colonisation, black culture, and the intertwining off all 4) and the musical artists of this film was phenomenal. Miles Caton's voice shines so beautifully and "I Lied To You" is a song I can't stop listening to. The creative decision to remix the song auditorialy and visually was fantastic. I loved the hip hop dancing and the inclusion of Chinese dance and music for Grace and Bo. To interweave past and present African and Black-American music and dress and dance is a huge underscore to the themes of the film. Then to have the Irish music sung and danced by the vampires, showing a connection between the colonised yet, of course separating them through the inhuman nature of the oppressed that perpetuate or conform to their oppression.

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Michael B. Jordan and Michael B. Jordan (sorry I have to say him twice for meme purposes) as Smoke and Stack was so good. The way each brother is so clearly distinct is so cool to watch. It helps that the costuming is so amazing and individual too. Smoke and Stack are such interesting characters and their pitfalls being subtly prodded at by the other characters is perfect enough insight into who they are. The lack of exposition by the film is something I love. I didn't need to know, or be shown, their backstories but hearing bits of it through the way other characters talked to them felt both nature and enough. I didn't leave feeling like I wanted more because a bit of plot wasn't wrapped up or because an off-hand comment about a character left a gaping hole in the story. It being a contained story about a single 24 hours (excluding the epilogue) felt perfectly enough. The relationships each brother has is perfectly fitting to them as characters. Smoke's is particularly beautiful with the addition of the ending he gets. It's so perfect.

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I have to mention the amazing sets and costume work, this is truly how you make a film, particularly a period piece. It is a testament to letting talent shine and funding "less conventional" stories. Sammy's decision at the end again highlights the theme of being true to one's culture and ancestry and helps the viewer reflect on how we should move forward in a post-colonial world. Love the epilogue, glad Stack left the bar in peace.