The Devil All the Time was released in select theaters on September 11, 2020, and on Netflix on September 16, 2020. It received polarizing reviews from critics, who praised the performances (particularly Holland and Pattinson) but were critical of the film's length and dark tone.
In 1950, Helen Hatton marries Roy Laferty. Roy is a bizarre, albeit charismatic, evangelical preacher who pours venomous spiders over his head while giving sermons to demonstrate his faith in God. Helen and Roy have a daughter named Lenora. During a sermon, Roy is bitten by a spider on his face and has a severe allergic reaction that affects his grip on reality, coming to believe that he can resurrect the dead. Roy takes Helen out in the woods and stabs her in the neck with a screwdriver before trying and failing to resurrect her. A distraught Roy hitchhikes and is picked up by photographer Carl Henderson and his wife Sandy, who met at the same time and place Willard and Charlotte did. Carl and Sandy are revealed to be serial killers who pick up male hitchhikers and encourage them to have sex with Sandy while Carl takes photographs before murdering them. Roy refuses to have sex with Sandy but Carl kills him anyway.
In 1957, Charlotte is diagnosed with cancer. Willard believes he can influence God with fervent prayer to remove the cancer from his wife's body. He prays to God and sacrifices Arvin's dog on a rustic cross he had erected in the woods behind his house. Charlotte dies despite his efforts, and Willard commits suicide by slitting his throat; his death is investigated by Sandy's brother, corrupt Sheriff Lee Bodecker. Arvin, now orphaned, goes to live with his grandmother Emma, who has also adopted Lenora.
In 1965, Arvin - now a young adult working manual jobs around town - is given Willard's Luger as a birthday present. He is fiercely protective of high school-aged Lenora who is bullied by some local greasers, prompting Arvin to one day attack and beat them all mercilessly. Lenora grows close to the new, self-righteousReverend Preston Teagardin, whom Arvin resents for previously ridiculing Emma. The pedophilic Preston grooms Lenora and she becomes pregnant. When she informs Preston, he rejects her. Overwhelmed by her bullying and pregnancy, Lenora hangs herself, though she briefly reconsiders. After the autopsy, Arvin is told that she was pregnant and deduces that Preston was the father. He follows Preston and sees him grooming another girl.
Alone at church together, Arvin confronts Preston about Lenora and shoots and kills him with the Luger before fleeing. Arvin decides to hitchhike to his childhood home in Knockemstiff and is picked up by Carl and Sandy, whose relationship has become acrimonious. Realizing Carl's intentions, Arvin kills them both in self-defense. He finds evidence of their serial killings and takes some of it with him. Lee learns about her murder and, to protect himself and his coming reelection, goes to Carl and Sandy's apartment where he finds and burns Carl's photo collection.
Investigating Carl's and Sandy's deaths, Lee eventually concludes it was Arvin, who has gone to bury his dog at Willard's cross. Lee tracks Arvin there and, armed with a shotgun, attempts to kill him and get revenge. A shootout ensues and Arvin shoots Lee in the stomach. As Lee dies, Arvin plants his copy of the evidence of Carl and Sandy's killing spree on his body so it can be revealed.
As Preston's death is also uncovered, Arvin hitchhikes out of the area with a hippie headed to Cincinnati. As they drive off, Arvin falls asleep and contemplates his future, which he imagines will be very similar to Willard's.
Campos stated that visual inspiration from the film mainly stemmed from the visual descriptions that Pollock provided in the novel itself. "The book kind of offers these amazing moments and images, things like, the prayer log, Carl's photographs in the book," Campos stated, "it gets your mind going." The film's visual style is inspired by painter Andrew Wyeth and photographer William Eggleston. Campos stated that the scenes that were inspired by Eggleston's work were mainly due to how colorful they were. Appalachia itself also inspired Campos and company when they were considering the visuals in the film. Campos wanted the film to mirror what Appalachia looked like during the timeline when the story takes place.[11]
Release
The Devil All the Time was released in select theaters on September 11, 2020,[12][13] and digitally, on Netflix, on September 16, 2020.[14]
The film was the most-watched on Netflix over its first two days, and third overall in its first five days.[15] In November 2020, Variety reported the film was the 22nd-most watched straight-to-streaming title of 2020 up to that point.[16]
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 65% of 219 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "The Devil All the Time's descent into darkness can be harrowing to the point of punishment, but it's offset by strong work from a stellar cast."[17]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 55 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[18]
The Chicago Tribune's Michael Phillips wrote, "It's easy on the eyes... worth seeing for an intriguingly cast ensemble, authenticating the milieu as much as possible. Holland's terrific, taking in each new setback in [his character's] life without revealing the full extent of the damage."[19]
Ryan Lattanzio of IndieWire gave The Devil All the Time a "C−" and called it "colossal misfire, a sweaty mess from start to finish," although he praised Holland and Pattinson's performances.[20]Owen Gleiberman of Variety said that "it's hard to imagine how a movie with this much sordid crime and violence could be this rote" and wrote "The Devil All the Time shows us a lot of bad behavior, but the movie isn't really interested in what makes the sinners tick. And without that lurid curiosity, it's just a series of Sunday School lessons: a noir that wants to scrub away the darkness."[21]
