Movie Review: “The Devil All The Time”

As October approaches, it’s time for horror movies and thrillers to take the stage. “The Devil All the Time,” a Netflix original, is a great film to ease your way into the spooky season. Based off of a book with the same title, the movie is set in the south around the 1960s and 1970s and revolves around victims of murder and tragedy.

There is a very strong religious theme that serves as the foundation for the film. With a star-studded cast of Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Bill Skarsgard, and Sebastian Stan, it is quite an engaging film to watch.

Actor Performance: 9/10

With the incredibly talented actors in this movie, it is no surprise that they were able to portray their characters in a compelling manner. 

Bill Skarsgard, who plays a World War II veteran, managed to deliver a repertoire of emotions from love to anger and pain despite having limited screen time.

Tom Holland, who rose to fame acting as Spiderman in Marvel movies shows a more serious side. Holland, who plays a troubled teenager, does a great job balancing the serious and caring sides to his character.

Skarsgard and Holland pull off fantastic southern accents, while Patterson, who plays a not so upstanding minister, on the other hand, fell a bit flat. His accent is so high-pitched that it provoked quite a few laughs from the audience. However, he still brings his character to life. It is safe to say that the acting in this movie was quite brilliant.

Plot: 8/10

The movie deals with many heavy themes such as death, sin, violence, and trauma. However, these themes are embedded well into the storyline so that they never feel abrupt or out of place.

Some of the scenes are quite vulgar, making them a bit shocking to watch; however, they do not take away from the integrity of the movie.

My only complaint is that the movie’s slow pace dragged a little. At specific points, I found myself just wishing the movie would hurry up.

Writer Creativity: 7/10

The writers managed to do a fabulous job of merging a great story with occasional grim details.

The beginning of the movie was remarkably strong, with a couple of shocking occurrences that kept you engaged. However, it took a turn for the worse towards the end when it became predictable.

The ending felt like a last-minute effort to tie up all of the loose ends in the story. Even with the unsurprising conclusion, the way the motifs were woven into the storyline is enough to distract you.

This close to two and-a-half hour movie requires undivided attention to understand everything that happens. It may not be for everyone due to its more gruesome nature, but if crime and tragedy is up your alley, then this is certainly a must watch.

Overall Rating: 8/10

~ Tanvi Iyer `22