First trailer for Ryan Coogler’s Sinners leaves the scariest parts to your imagination

We’ve seen Coogler direct powerful pieces of dramatic social commentary like Fruitvale Station and blockbuster genre features like the Black Panther films, but he’s turning to straight horror with his latest project. Set in the 1930s Jim Crow South, Sinners revolves around two twin brothers (both played by Michael B. Jordan) who return to their small town home hoping to start new lives, only to find something deeply sinister waiting for them. In the daytime, there’s an unsettling presence lurking in the shadows that keeps the townsfolk (Miles Caton, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Benson Miller, Li Jun Li) looking over their shoulders.

But at night, everyone’s fears become more concrete as eerie groups of strangers like Hailee Steinfeld’s character show up looking to be invited into the local juke joint, prompting regular patrons to barricade themselves inside. Aside from a shot of a boy with wicked claw marks across his face, the trailer goes out of its way to keep the shape of Sinners’ supernatural story a mystery. It’s rare to see a studio exercise so much restraint when hyping up one of its most anticipated new movies, but that might be a sign Sinners is something truly special. It debuts in theaters on March 7th.