Ryan Coogler’s Hit Horror Film ‘Sinners’ Was Inspired by This Metallica Song

Director Ryan Coogler and actor Michael B. Jordan have teamed up yet again for the hit horror film, Sinners. The period piece has captured the imagination of audiences, promising one of the most original film ideas of the last several years. But, nothing is created in a vacuum. What inspired this haunting yet enticing trip to the past for Coogler? Apparently, a Metallica song. Find out which track from these legendary rockers inspired Sinners, below.

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Ryan Coogler’s Hit Horror Film ‘Sinners’ Was Inspired by This Metallica Song

Sinners follows two brothers who return to Mississippi after working for the mob in Chicago. Back home in the south, the brothers open up a juke joint for the local black community. Their plans are derailed by an unknown, supernatural evil–as well as the racist sentiments of Mississippi in the 1930s.

While watching Sinners, your mind wouldn’t immediately go to Metallica. Nevertheless, Coogler cited the band’s “One” as a source of inspiration.

“I wanted the movie to feel like a song,” Coogler recently said. “So I used Metallica’s ‘One.’ It starts off intense, then gets melodic. And going somewhere just f***ing crazy. But by the time you’re finished, it was clear you were always going to get there.”

The film follows a similar recipe. It’s unexpected and exciting to no end. Much like this Metallica track. Revisit the trailer for Sinners, below.

Behind the Meaning of Metallica’s “One”

I can’t remember anything
Can’t tell if this is true or a dream
Deep down inside I feel the scream
This terrible silence stops me

Now that the war is through with me
I’m waking up, I cannot see
That there’s not much left of me
Nothing is real but pain now

We know that Metallica’s “One” inspired Sinners, but what inspired Metallica to write this song? The band reportedly used Dalton Trumbo’s book, Johnny Got His Gun, as a jumping off point.

The book follows the harrowing tale of a man who survives war, but loses his limbs and face. The character then relays the heartbreaking reality of being trapped in a body that can’t communicate or facilitate any movement.

“How could a man lose as much of himself as I have and still live,” the passage reads. “When a man buys a lottery ticket you never expect him to win because it’s a million to one shot. But if he does win, you’ll believe it because one in a million still leaves one.

If I’d read about a guy like me in the paper I wouldn’t believe it, cos it’s a million to one,” it continues. “But a million to one always leaves one. I’d never expect it to happen to me because the odds of it happening are a million to one. But a million to one always leaves one. One.”

Only Metallica would travel to such a dark place. They turned this tale into an effective anti-war song. Few protest tracks are as visceral as this one. Revisit “One”, below.

Fed through the tube that sticks in me
Just like a wartime novelty
Tied to machines that make me be
Cut this life off from me

Hold my breath as I wish for death
Oh please, God, wake me

(Photo by Venla Shalin/Redferns)