The Devil All The Time

By India Bartram

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The Devil All the Time, directed by Antonio Capmos, connects multiple characters and places in a story filled with violence, death and religion. Antonio Campos wrote the screenplay along with Paulo Campos. The film was released on September 16, 2020 and is available on Netflix.

The film ties together the stories of a World War II veteran, a preacher and a photographer. All of these storylines transition between two small towns in America: Knockemstiff, Ohio and Coal Creek, West Virginia.

After coming back from war, the veteran (played by Bill Skarsgard) meets the love of his life (Haley Bennett) in a café. They get married, have a son named Arvin (Tom Holland), and move to Knockemstiff. After his parents’ deaths, Arvin goes to live with his grandparents in Coal Creek, West Virginia.

Arvin’s grandparents have also taken in the daughter of the preacher, named Lenora (Eliza Scanlen). Her mother (Mia Wasikowska) was found dead in the woods when Lenora was just a baby and her father the preacher (Harry Melling) is nowhere to be found. Arvin and Lenora grow up together as stepsiblings in Coal Creek. The film continues their stories into adolescence where death and manipulation follow closely behind them.

The photographer (Jason Clark) also meets his wife (Riley Keough) in the same café as the war veteran. The two of them also move to Ohio, but they frequently take road trips. These road trips consist of picking up young, male hitchhikers and taking them out to the woods to take pictures with them. The hitchhikers don’t come out of the woods alive.

Around every corner is a surprise in The Devil All the Time. These three storylines twist and turn in unexpected ways and all ultimately connect by the end. Not only is this a very entertaining film with great performances, there are strong messages about the power of religion in rural small-town America. Most of the character’s actions are fueled by religion. Some take extreme actions in order to please God, while others use religion as a way to manipulate the vulnerable.

Notable performances in this film come from Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson and Harry Melling. Tom Holland surprised me in this role, as I only knew him as the new superhero heartthrob. This was a great departure for him, and he did a great job driving his character forward throughout the film. Recently Robert Pattinson has been coming out with really great performances and his role as the deceptive Reverend is no exception. He perfectly embodies this manipulative and arrogant character. Harry Melling is also perfect for the role of the extremist preacher. One of my favorite scenes was his first scene where he preaches to the church and ends with dumping a bucket of spiders on his face.

The Devil All the Time is not for the faint of heart. But with that being said, if you are intrigued to find out what happens to these characters, I would definitely recommend this film. You will find an enticing thriller that will keep you on your toes and leave you thinking for days.