Boots Riley’s newest film doesn't hold back, in its messaging or in its weirdness.

It is funny, visually stunning, and unique. Despite the fact that I Love Boosters is clearly a political statement that loudly condemns capitalism and the institutions that uphold it, this reviewer still found herself laughing out loud throughout, clapping whenever the underdogs landed a punch against “the system,” and gawking in awe at the intricate costumes and stunning visuals. The film intentionally blends surrealist imagery and hysterical hijinks to create the imaginative medium through which director Boots Riley delivers a one-two punch against the monopoly capitalist system that has come to dominate our present society.

That said, it’s also utterly absurd and outlandish. There are strange subplots and unnecessarily creepy and uncomfortable sex scenes including a handsome and apologetic demon (don’t ask). The second half of the film also felt a bit long and chaotic, especially the final “chase” scene. Indeed, it’s far from perfect. But, at a time when Hollywood has been monopolized by a handful of giant studios pumping out the same dull, trite, mindless slop – Boots Riley’s newest film feels like the breath of fresh air bored movie-goers have been gasping for.

The film is centered around a group of Black women boosters called The Velvet Gang, who steal from high-end clothing stores to resell at a cheaper rate to the community. Aspiring fashion designer Corvette (Keke Palmer) and her best friend Sade (Naomie Ackie) lead the Velvet Gang, along with their friend Mariah (Taylour Paige). After realizing that fashion mogul Christie Smith (Demi Moore) has been “boosting” ideas from Corvette to make her high-end fashion, the Velvet Gang commit to targeting her stores’ locations throughout the Bay Area as revenge.

Simultaneously, workers at Smith’s “Mogul” stores have realized their own exploitation, thanks to the leadership and political clarity of the perpetually-vaping employee Violeta (Eiza Gonzalez), who is trying to get all her fellow workers to strike against the company. In a politically-motivated sci-twist very much in the spirit of proletarian internationalism, the Velvet Gang end up roping in Jianhu (Poppy Liu), a worker from one of Mogul’s factories in China, by using a device created by the Chinese government that reveals and deconstructs the dialectical nature of all things you point it at (again, don’t ask).

Viewers should be ready for an absolutely wild ride that is as wacky and colorful as the Mogul stores where much of the film takes place. Such color stands in contrast to the darkness much of us feel hovering around us, the darkness of greed and war and exploitation by the hands of the few. But in our world so dominated by an ever more brazen monopoly capitalist class and their greedy attacks on the oppressed people of the world, I Love Boosters reminds us that it is the international working class that carries the torch of hope that can set this capitalist system ablaze.

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“No matter how many guns or how much money you got. They gon’ take it from you when they want,” said Remmick, the head vampire, explaining to Smoke Moore and the other living characters that the downfall of the Juke Joint and the massacre of its customers were inevitable. The fatal flaw of the Moore twins, Smoke and Stack, is their belief that making money is the path to freedom.

“It's a mighty fine day to be free,” Stack says as the twins prepare to open their business. A few scenes later, Smoke disavows any belief in the supernatural and says “only money” can give you power.

The vampires gain access to the Juke Joint because the twins need money to keep their business running. They need U.S. currency and not the wooden coins paid by their sharecropper customers. White people are more likely to have U.S. dollars, so Stack’s ex-girlfriend Mary goes outside to speak with the strange white visitors.

Coogler drew inspiration from the Faustian bargain, a deal with the devil. Vampires use money to gain access to a building in the same way capitalists use it to exploit labor. They claim to make a “fair trade” in a necessarily exploitative relationship. Mary went outside looking to make a profit and found herself not only being exploited but being used to exploit everyone else.

Instead of being the key to freedom, capital traps the Black community of Clarksdale in their oppression.

So what is the road to freedom?

Sinners does not depict a revolution, but it does show some successful struggle. The film rejects idealist solutions offered by many similar movies. Sammie's recital of the Lord's Prayer does not work. Nor are the vampires defeated by the abstract powers of love or music.

In order to win, the protagonists have to discover the vampire's weaknesses and then physically defeat them. Their knowledge comes mainly from Smoke’s wife Annie, who has studied past struggles against vampires and similar creatures.

The fight in the Juke Joint is spontaneous and therefore has limited success. The owners and patrons lack knowledge and unity. After the first attack they still don't know who or what the vampires are, so they send most of the patrons outside, where they are picked off one by one. Inside, they suffer from impulsive decisions like when one of them invites the vampires in to fight before the humans are ready.

We see a more successful struggle from the organized Choctaw. It's implied that they have killed other vampires already. They almost kill Remmick but get stopped by a KKK couple, Joan and Bert, whose racism is encouraged by Remmick and ends up being fatal to both of them.

The story would have gone very differently if the characters were not divided by national oppression and white chauvinism. If the Black, white and indigenous characters were united, the vampires would stand no chance.

One of many lessons we can learn from Sinners is that bloodsuckers rely on the division and ignorance of their prey. Those of us suffering from the vampirism of capital need to learn how it works and unite to drive a stake through the heart of the system.

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