Everyone moved on a little too quickly from Netflix’s eerie crime thriller The Devil All the Time. The Netflix original film premiered in 2020 and features a star-studded cast that will most likely never be on-screen together again. All the planets and stars aligned for this thriller starring Tom Holland, Bill Skarsgård, Sebastian Stan, Harry Melling, Robert Pattinson, Eliza Scanlen, Haley Bennett, Riley Keough, Mia Wasikowska, and Jason Clarke. The film is easy to miss, given the array of movies and television series Netflix puts out every year, but it’s one you’ll definitely want to add to your watch list.
Based on the novel by Donald Ray Pollock, the film follows anguished characters living in post-World War II southern Ohio and West Virginia. It’s an intricate story with interwoven storylines, including a disturbed war veteran, a serial killer couple, and a Machiavellian preacher. The film mostly centers around Arvin Russell (Holland) and his battle with the evil forces in his life and the small town. The psychological thriller explores themes of religious extremism, trauma, violence, and morality. Revisiting the film five years later, it remains one of Netflix’s best films, and it’s a testament to Antonio Campos, the director, and the cast who gave stellar performances and lost themselves in those unrecognizable roles.
‘The Devil All the Time’ Is an Intricate Psychological Thriller
The film begins with a harrowing scene that’s indicative of how the rest of the film will proceed. Off the bat, audiences meet Willard Russell (Skarsgård), a WWII soldier who finds another soldier tethered to a cross after being tortured. The brutalities of war follow Willard home as he suffers from post-traumatic stress, which leads him to question everything he’s ever believed in. He develops a warped perspective on religion, and his mental state continues to deteriorate without any signs of improving. His return home sets in motion the rest of the events of the film, and through him, viewers are introduced to the rest of the characters and plotlines of the film.
Arvin’s story is a chilling reflection of Willard’s experience. Growing up and bearing witness to his father’s descent into darkness, Arvin shares a similar struggle with religion and how he perceives the world. He encounters similar characters as his father did at the beginning of the film, and he faces similar challenges and life-altering actions. The intricacies of the story keep viewers engaged and focused on these complex characters and difficult themes, which are portrayed brilliantly.
Brilliant Performances by the Star-Studded Cast in ‘The Devil All the Time’
In many films, there’s at least one stand-out performance that’s easy to pick out because it leaves the public and critics awestruck. In this film, it’s difficult to pick the one performance that outperforms the others because every actor poured themselves into their perspective roles. Their performances demonstrate their willingness to lose themselves in these characters who commit atrocious acts and represent the darkest aspects of humanity. This was to be expected with a cast that includes Holland, Pattinson, Skarsgård, and Keough, as they’ve gone on to explore other characters in various films and television series since the Netflix film premiered in 2020.
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Keough takes on the dark role of Sandy, one-half of the serial killer couple. Sandy meets Carl (Clarke) while she’s a waitress at a diner and is intrigued by his photography skills, and the pair embark on a twisted journey of love and murder. Pattinson delivers an astonishing performance as Reverend Preston Teagardin as he becomes unrecognizable as the manipulative preacher. It’s the first character in his filmography that you’ll despise and cheer for the fate that awaits him. Holland plays the tortured central character amazingly well, and, as a viewer, you feel his moral desperation and the weight of every decision he has to make. This film has a lineup of actors whose chances of being on-screen together again are slim to none, so the cast alone should make this movie tempting to watch.
Ignore the Critic Scores for ‘The Devil All the Time’
The Devil All the Time is seriously underrated and deserves more critical acclaim than initially received. Yes, the pacing of the film, at times, is slow and could result in viewers losing interest after some time. However, the heavy themes explored in the film deserve to have as much time as possible, given their complexity.
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The film received a 65% Rotten Tomatoes score and a 79% audience score. The Devil All the Time was popular among viewers despite the pacing, and that’s because of the stellar cast and their dedication to their roles. It’s also a celebration of Pollock’s original story that made the film what it is with all its dark twists. You never know what the next scene will bring, and the next scene is as shocking as the one before. It’s a film that requires your undivided attention, and it’s certainly worth a watch. The Devil All the Time is streaming on Netflix.
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