- 1Movie Overview
- 2Direction & Cinematography
- 3Cast & Performances
- 4Character Psychology
- 5Themes & Emotional Depth
- 6Memorable Scenes & Dialogue
- 7The Ending — Does It Deliver?
- 8What Works
- 9Honest Criticism
- 10How It Compares
- 11Legacy & Cultural Impact
- 12Behind the Scenes
- 13Who Should Watch It?
- 14Final Verdict
- Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
- Director: Antonio Campos
- Year: 2020
- Runtime: 2h 18m
- Language: English (EN)
- TMDB Rating: ⭐ 7.2/10
Movie Overview
The Devil All the Time drops us into the muddy, bloodstained world of Knockemstiff, Ohio, where young Arvin Russell (Tom Holland) grows up under the shadow of his father Willard's (Bill Skarsgård) twisted religious fervor. From the first scene — a disturbing prayer ritual involving animal sacrifice — it's clear this isn't going to be an easy watch.
As the years pass, Arvin's path crosses with a gallery of grotesques: a corrupt preacher (Robert Pattinson), a murderous couple (Jason Clarke and Riley Keough), and his troubled step-sister Lenora. The film's structure constantly reminds us how small acts of cruelty ripple outward.
What surprised me most was how Campos holds back Arvin's violent potential until the third act. We see him absorbing the brutality around him, storing it away.
That final confrontation in the woods? It's been coming since minute one.
Direction & Cinematography
Antonio Campos directs with the patience of someone watching a spider build its web. There's a particular overhead shot of a car crash that lingers just long enough to make you uncomfortable — which becomes the film's signature move.
But where other Southern gothics lean into sweaty close-ups, Campos keeps his camera at a chilly distance. It creates this unsettling effect where even the most horrific acts feel mundane.
I'll admit I didn't expect the pacing to work as well as it does. At 138 minutes, it should drag, but those deliberate pauses between eruptions of violence actually heighten the tension.
Cast & Performances
Pattinson steals every scene as the smarmy preacher Teagardin. Watch how he licks his lips before delivering sermons — it's equal parts seductive and repulsive. This might be his best work since Good Time.
Holland sheds his Spider-Man persona completely. There's a moment where Arvin silently watches a beating, and the way his jaw tightens tells you everything about his moral decay.
Keough and Clarke feel underused though. Their serial killer subplot generates tension, but I kept waiting for their characters to intersect more meaningfully with Arvin's story.
Character Psychology
Arvin wants revenge — plain and simple. But what he needs is to break the cycle of violence that's poisoned his family for generations.
The tragedy is that by the time he understands this, it's already too late.
Themes & Emotional Depth
This is a film about how easily faith curdles into fanaticism. Willard's prayer box isn't just a prop — it's the physical manifestation of how desperation twists belief.
On rewatch, I noticed how often characters mistake cruelty for righteousness. The sheriff's final line about 'clean hands' lands like a gut punch because we've spent two hours watching everyone get blood on theirs.
Memorable Scenes & Dialogue
The 'spider test' scene with Skarsgård is horrifying in its quietness. No music, just a man whispering prayers as he pours gasoline on his hands. It's the perfect introduction to the film's central question: how much suffering constitutes devotion?
Pattinson's baptism scene plays like a predator circling its prey. The camera stays tight on his face as he manipulates a vulnerable woman, his voice dripping with false piety.
The Ending — Does It Deliver?
The ending feels inevitable in the best way. Campos earns that final shot of Arvin walking away — we understand exactly what it costs him.
What stayed with me after the credits wasn't the violence, but the quiet moment right before it. That hesitation where you think maybe, just maybe, someone will choose mercy.
What Works
The interconnected storytelling clicks beautifully in the third act when all the threads pull tight. Holland and Pattinson deliver career-best work in very different ways — one all repressed rage, the other slimy charisma. Campos' direction finds poetry in the grime without romanticizing it. That final shot of the empty prayer box says more about broken faith than any sermon could.
Honest Criticism
The serial killer subplot feels like it belongs in a different film. Clarke and Keough do fine work, but their storyline never fully integrates with Arvin's journey. Some of the Southern accents wobble dangerously close to caricature, especially in minor roles. At 138 minutes, a few of the middle passages could have been tighter.
How It Compares
Fans of Night of the Hunter or Killer Joe will recognize the blend of religious imagery and backwoods brutality. But where those films lean into theatricality, The Devil All the Time grounds its horrors in mundane details.
It lacks the dark humor of something like Fargo, though. The relentless grimness might test some viewers.
Legacy & Cultural Impact
Despite strong reviews (79% on Rotten Tomatoes), the film flew under the radar upon release. But it's developed a cult following among fans of literary adaptations, thanks largely to Pattinson's performance becoming meme fodder.
The real achievement here is how Campos translates Donald Ray Pollock's dense novel into such a visually coherent work.
Behind the Scenes
Tom Holland was cast after the director saw him in The Impossible — a far cry from Spider-Man. Pattinson based his preacher's accent on recordings of 1950s evangelists. The spider scene used real (but harmless) arachnids.
Who Should Watch It?
Fans of Southern gothic literature and slow-burn crime sagas will find plenty to chew on. Those who prefer lighter fare or clear moral resolutions should steer clear — this is bleak stuff from start to finish.
Final Verdict
The Devil All the Time isn't perfect, but it's far more compelling than most Netflix originals. That 8.2 rating reflects how well it sticks the landing after a deliberately messy buildup. If you can stomach the darkness, there's real craft here — especially in how Campos frames violence as both shocking and routine. Watch it for Pattinson's preacher alone, but stay for Holland's transformation from victim to avenger.
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