Dog’s Movie House: “The Devil All The Time” Effective Moody Thriller With A Terrific Tom Holland!

The movie is ostensibly about a young man named Arvin Russell (Holland) an essentially good fellow whose life has been marked by tragedy. During the first half-hour or so we see the plight of Arvin’s father Willard (Bill Skarsgard) a WWII veteran who comes back to his backwater hometown in Ohio. He marries Charlotte (Haley Bennett) but loses her to cancer when Arvin is just eight years old. After Willard’s prayers are not answered despite his most fervent attempts to appeal to the Creator, Willard takes his own life leaving young Arvin to be raised by his grandmother and uncle. Also being raised by these two is his stepsister Lenora (Eliza Scanlen) whose parents have also died although under more mysterious circumstances. Arvin and Lenora are the most important people in each other’s lives and Arvin in particular is most protective of his stepsister.

Things start to spiral out of control with the arrival of a new preacher named Preston Teagardin (a wonderfully slimy Robert Pattinson) and a serial killer couple (Jason Clarke and Riley Keough) who like to pick up hitchhikers, photograph them, and kill them. A series of events leads Arvin to take justice into his own hands as well as come to terms with his feelings for his father.

The atmosphere in this film is first rate. The postwar backwater town and surrounding area feels like a character in and of itself. There’s a sense that everyone his hanging on by their fingernails and just a single nudge could send everyone over the edge. The music is haunting but never overpowers the film (due credit to Dani Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans for providing such a mesmerizing score). Also adding to the atmosphere is author Donald Ray Pollack’s narration which adds to the atmosphere of the piece.

Now the script is very good, but it’s the performances that make it pop. Holland is fantastic as Arvin, a good man driven to violence due to circumstance and history. He becomes a badass, but he’s always relatable due to Holland’s performance. The supporting cast, including Skarsgard, Clarke, Keough, Pattinson, and the Winter Soldier himself, Sebastian Stan, all do excellent work. Also good in smaller supporting roles are Harry Melling, Mia Wasikowska, and Haley Bennett. In fact, there isn’t one bad performance in the bunch: all are uniformly outstanding.

The movie is over two hours long and it works as a slow burn type of thriller, so be patient. If you’re not into it by the hour mark, however, chances are this film isn’t going to hook you at all. But if you like you movies with mature themes, great performances, and oozing atmosphere then “The Devil All The Time” is the movie for you! I know I’ll be watching it again soon! 4 1/2 Out Of 5 On Kendog’s Barkometer! So Sayeth The Kendog!

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