The Devil All the Time (2020) Review

 

The Devil All the Time (2020)

It’s rare that I actually watch things as soon as they come out, and so this was a great little treat tonight.
Based on the book by Ray Pollack, The Devil All the Time follows Arvin, a boy from Ohio who after the death of his parents, moves to a small town in West Virginia, where he must protect the ones he loves from the evil that surrounds them.

While this is a slow burn of a film, something about it just speaks so loud. It’s a classic Appalachian story that is filled with death, sin, and corruption, much like our own tales of old. I think with it being set so close to home, in the 50s-60s up into the Vietnam War, we see a different side of America at it’s height, a side that was always there. A side of serial killers, dirty cops, and corrupt preachers, all intertwined in our protagonists story, seeming unrelated, but all tying together in the end.

Featuring an all-star cast, this film kills it, including Robert Pattinson, Sebastian Stan, Bill Skarsgård, Jason Clarke, Haley Bennett, and of course Tom Holland, who puts forth what is possibly his best performance to date. He nails the southern WV accent, as well as the rough n’ rowdy persona needed to understand a boy who’s gone through what he has, where he has. And when he gets going, boy does he get going, enacting his own form of justice, unknowingly, in an ironic sort of way due to the religious themes in the film. He’s no longer the innocent high school kid from Spider-Man. He’s now a man who’s seemingly lost everything he cares about and the darkness and tenacity within him is thrilling.

The film focuses on themes of over-religion, sex, and most importantly death and it’s inevitability in the mountains, whether you’re looking for it or not. It tells a deep and sadistic tale that is more Appalachian than damn near any movie I’ve ever seen, because it gets it right. It looks, feels, and plays accurately, with it feeling like a time none too far removed from our own, in this saddening and sorrowful story where Arvin can never really settle down, for where he goes, so does death, putting him on a collision course to enact justice on those carrying horrifying secrets.

9.5/10