If Southern Gothic is defined by peculiar characters and macabre goings-on set largely in the postbellum South, then The Devil All the Time neatly fits into this sub-genre. With twisted, unstable preachers, nescient young women, a corrupt sheriff, and a sexually deviant, murderous couple, we’re taken on a road that’s dark and winding. Like the works of William Faulkner, the story can feel divergent as we’re guided by a narrator through the intertwining stories of people in the insular towns of Coal Creek, VA, and Knockemstiff, Ohio. But unlike Faulkner, this Southern Gothic narrative doesn’t offer a deep look into the minds of its disturbed characters, despite its willingness to plunge boldly into dark territory.

The Plot of The Devil All the Time

The story begins with Willard Russell (Bill Skarsgard), a WW2 soldier who’s traumatized after he encounters another soldier’s body on a cross; his head bloody and fly-mottled. He commits the religious transgression (it won’t be the last) of shooting the half-dead man to put him out of his misery. Willard then ventures through Ohio on his way home to Virginia. There he meets a waitress named Charlotte (Haley Bennett) at a diner, who later becomes his wife.

After settling down in Ohio and having a son named Arvin, drama strikes when Charlotte is diagnosed with cancer. Willard and Arvin’s fervent prayers aren’t enough to save her, but in one last desperate attempt, Willard shoots Arvin’s dog as a sacrifice to God. When that fails and Charlotte is buried, Willard commits suicide at the family’s prayer log, where Arvin finds his body.

In Virginia, Helen Hatton (Mia Wasikowska) marries eccentric preacher, Roy Laferty (Harry Melling), who gives bombastic sermons ending with him pouring spiders over his head in front of a gaping, nodding audience. They have a daughter named Lenora (Eliza Scanlen) and live an apparently peaceful life. But after being bitten by one of his spiders and having a severe reaction, he descends into psychosis. Believing he can resurrect the dead, Roy takes Helen out to the forest and stabs her in the neck with a screwdriver.

Once he escapes the scene of the crime, Roy hitchhikes with a couple named Sandy (Riley Keough) and Carl (Jason Clarke), who met at the diner Willard patronized. Unbeknownst to Roy, the couple are serial killers who pick up young men so Sandy can have sex with them while Carl takes pictures, before and after the men are killed.

The Strongest Performances are by Robert Pattinson and Tom Holland

The adult Arvin is played by Tom Holland. His hard-headed, introverted demeanor makes him the rock in the center of stormy rapids. Although he’s not by any means a pacifist, he doesn’t bear the hypocrisy of many other characters, of whom we see only semblances of piety.

Arvin eschews religion and acts violently only when he feels his moral principles demand it. We get the sense that there is also more depth in him than there is in many of the other characters, but the film only hints at this and keeps us at arm’s length from his psyche.

As Arvin’s nemesis, Robert Pattinson thoroughly embodies the narcissistic Reverend Preston Teagardin. He expertly balances Teagardin’s smarm with his charisma, making us believe that the young Lenora would be unable to see through his veneer of holiness and charm. Outside of church, however, Teagardin transgresses wildly by taking advantage of the young women of his congregation. His manipulation and victim blaming make the audience side wholeheartedly with Arvin when the young man retaliates on behalf of his step-sister, Lenora.

Besides Teagardin and Arvin, most of the other characters in the film seem quite rote and uninteresting. The motives of the murderous couple, for example, aren’t explored and never give us a chance to delve into the why behind their crimes. We simply have to accept it for what it is and to see the crimes in sometimes explicit detail, with hints of awkward parody sprinkled into the mix.

The Devil All the Time Contains Parody Without Much Purpose

Although the film is primarily listed as a dramatic thriller, there’s dry humor peppered throughout; one example being when Willard brutalizes two poachers for Arvin’s edification and the narrator provides us with ironic commentary. But it often doesn’t successfully balance the subtle fluctuations needed for good dark comedy.

Unlike Quentin Tarantino’s dark humor, which has principles underlying the violence (even if we’re sometimes made uncomfortable by our own laughter), The Devil All the Time hits us with moments of brutality laced with unwarranted, albeit subtle, levity. There are times when the film invites us to chuckle at an ironic death without any obvious reason why we should.

Despite strong performances by Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson, the characters’ lack of psychological depth makes it difficult to fully invest in the narrative and the audience is left uncertain of what it’s trying to accomplish. The film reads like a series of dark vignettes that show characters’ paths connecting in uncanny ways–like when the orphaned daughter of Helen, Lenora, becomes the stepsister of Willard’s orphaned son–yet it’s difficult to discern what it’s trying to show us, aside from, perhaps, a vicious cycle of sin.

The Film Moves Slowly for a Dramatic Thriller

If you’re expecting a fast-paced thriller, you’re likely to be disappointed. While there is plenty of violence from the start, none of it triggers any thrill, and it isn’t until the last 30 minutes of the film that we get any action indicative of the genre. But for some audience members, it might not feel worth it to stick around for the finale.

While we slowly follow along with the journeys of the characters, it takes a while to identify the protagonist because of the equal time given to multiple narratives. A ways into the film, Arvin breaks from the cycle of corruption and gives us someone to root for. Appearing as the most steady character in a whirlwind of sin and insanity, Arvin emerges as the most relatable character to the average viewer.

Even having a hero results in only a tepid investment in the outcome of the final showdown. With so many characters being killed with indifference, the viewer becomes cautious about caring too much about Arvin’s fate, as the film seems uncaring and striving for unpredictability.

But if you want to put aside two hours and nineteen minutes to go on this ride, prepare to wheel on at a steady speed, witnessing devilish events, rote characters, and an ultimately simplistic moral underpinning.

Watch the trailer for The Devil All the Time here: