A new vampire movie is one of the major surprises in cinema 2025. Blood and Sinners tells a serious story and mixes it with mystical elements. Yet, the nasty villain is based on a character from a children’s film.
How is Blood and Sinners received? Blood and Sinners (originally just Sinners) is the new film by Ryan Coogler. He is mainly known for the two films on Black Panther, but he has also celebrated a significant success as a director with Creed.
His latest film was released in April 2025 and is quite popular among critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a critic score of 98%, making it not only one of the best films of 2025 but also one of the best in recent years.
The film focuses on the twin brothers Smoke and Stack, both portrayed by Michael B. Jordan. They are former gangsters who buy a barn in 1932 to open a juke bar. Alongside societal issues like racism, supernatural problems also arise.
The nasty villain in the film had an unusual source of inspiration: A wolf from a children’s film.
A creepy wolf and a nasty vampire
What was the source of inspiration? In an interview on the podcast Get Rec’d with Straw Hat Goofy (via YouTube), Ryan Coogler talked about his new film and the industry itself. It also mentions that he is a big fan of animated films and series and was inspired by the film Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, which was released in 2022.
This is also reflected in Blood and Sinners and the villain Remmick, played by Jack O’Connell.
I am talking about influences in this film […] That’s a big thing that I love. Think of the villain Death, think of his characteristic features, think of his behavior.
Ryan Coogler about his inspiration for the villain in Blood and Sinners
Straw Hat Goofy immediately thinks of the wolf’s eyes from Puss in Boots. Throughout the animated film, he is mainly defined by his red eyes, which create a creepy atmosphere. The same happens with Remmick in Blood and Sinners.
The red eyes are not only his design, but they also create a certain unease and the feeling that something is lurking in the dark. Coogler also cites the calm behavior of the wolf as a source of inspiration for Remmick.
One of the artists for the film, Louis Gonzales, according to Coogler, even worked at Pixar for 20 years and worked on the animated film The Iron Giant.
Although Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is an animated film rated 6+ that primarily targets families, the wolf in the film is a good villain who can give adults chills. Besides that, there are also many animated projects for adults: 5 strong animated series for adults that you can currently stream on Netflix
