What Religion Is in The Devil All the Time? | Quick Review

Featuring Tom Holland as the main protagonist and Robert Pattison as the main antagonist, The Devil All the Time boasts a sinister narrative about thwarted misuses of religion in the small town of Knockemstiff.

The Devil All the Time is an ominous tale about lives converging around the small town of Knockemstiff.

And the name itself – Knock. ‘Em. Stiff. – says it all.

I was so curious to see Tom Holland outside of the Spiderman role and Rob Pattinson outside of Twilight. I had to see what this film had to offer – so I watched it in broad daylight. And honestly, the movie wasn’t as thrilling as I expected it to be. 

Surprisingly, the only jump scare that I had was when the title suddenly popped on the screen 15 seconds into the movie.

After that, it was just a mixture of ominous moments, lurid images, and basic storytelling.

What Religion Is in The Devil All the Time?

The Devil All the Time highlighted the religion of Christianity. It is the religion practiced by the citizens of Kockemstiff but rejected by Arvin (the main protagonist played by Tom Holland) due to how his father traumatized him in the name of religious practices.

Religion often consists of outward rituals that are intended to be an expression of what should be happening inwardly.

However, ANYBODY can put on the outward act that they are Christian without actually having a heart that resembles classically Christian values.

As an example, there is a certain killer couple in the movie that people trusted because they seemed to be good, safe, and religious.

People thought their hearts were Godly and that they were harmless when in actuality, they were pure evil. Wolves in sheep’s clothing.

The Devil All the Time Review

The Devil All the Time explores the dark side of Christianity and illustrates what evils can germinate from it when confined to a small, isolated town. In this film, everyone is playing god, and the only person who isn’t playing god, Arvin, is the “good guy” of this film.

He is often in a position of enacting judgment and retribution for the heinous crimes committed by the religious people of Knockemstiff.

Props to Tom Holland for pulling off another accent and Robert Pattinson embodies a completely different person. Both of their accents felt consistent and Pattison’s sleazy character was so believable – it was brilliant.

The Devil All the Time produced clever camera work and a killer movie score (pun intended). It established the mood and the setting quite nicely. The story itself felt like a sequence of things happening without any purpose behind them. The ending fell a little flat. It left the question – what was that all for?

The Devil All the Time is unsettling for the sake of being unsettling and doesn’t tell a compelling story. Nonetheless, it does have mild entertainment value and was able to sustain my curiosity throughout.

Besides the incredible acting and the relatively engaging pacing, this film is a bit two-dimensional. Deeper complexities within each character of the film and higher stakes could have elevated this film further.

Rating: 6/10

What did you think of this film? Let me know in the comments below!

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Peace, love, and lots of popcorn,

IMO