The Devil All The Time Review

The Devil All The Time has been generating a lot of buzz since its release on Netflix this past week. Set in the mid 1900’s, the story revolves around a boy named Arvin Russell who seeks to protect his loved ones from the seedy characters that lurk around his small town. We see Arvin grow up and lose many people he loves, and the influence of his violent father takes hold of him. The film is directed by Antonio Campos.

Photo Courtesy of Netflix

I’m not going to lie, the first forty minutes of the film had me about ready to turn it off. It was jarring, very gory, and the storyline jumped around a lot without a direction. It didn’t grab my attention until Arvin grew up and Tom Holland took over as the character. He and Reverend Preston, played by Robert Pattinson, really carried the rest of the film. Robert Pattinson’s character is perfectly diabolical, a preacher who excuses his own sins through scripture and smooth-talking with that country hick accent.

Photo Courtesy of iHeart Radio

Holland and Pattinson aren’t the only big stars in The Devil All The Time. Arvin’s parents are played by It actor Bill Skarsgard (whose Pennywise depiction I will never be able to unsee) and Haley Bennett. The two meet in a diner where she works, and on the same day, a photographer named Clark (played by Jason Clark) meets another waitress named Sandy (played by Riley Keough). Arvin’s parents get married and settle down, while the other two become serial killers and necrophiliacs. The film then splits off into somewhat parallel storylines that eventually weave themselves together at the end.

The overall look of the movie is beautiful. The cinematography, color correction, set design, and costume design deserve the highest praises. It really helped establish what the theme seemed to be, which was, to quote the narrator, “Some people are born just so they can be buried.” I also liked that the narrator of the film was Ray Pollock, the author of the book the film is based on.

Photo Courtesy of Netflix

I could see The Devil All The Time being a much more successful limited series on Netflix. They bit off more than they could chew trying to condense everything into a two hour and twenty minute film. I would have loved to see some of the characters fleshed out more, instead of just having them commit a violent act and/or die so the story can move forward. I was left with a lot of unanswered questions. I wanted to know more about Lenora’s mother and father. Whatever happened to Roy? What did the churchgoers think once Preston’s true nature was exposed? And what of Arvin’s grandmother? A lot in this film was left up to the viewer’s imagination.

Overall, I would rate The Devil All The Time 3 out of 5 stars.