‘The Devil All The Time’ Reviews Are Mixed, Critics Divided Over ‘Weirdly Pointless’ Film

“The Devil All the Time” movie reviews are in, and it appears some of the top critics weren’t crazy about the film.

The Antonio Campos directed flick stars Robert Pattinson, Tom Holland, Bill Skarsgård, Sebastian Stan, and several others. The movie follows the story of a young man dedicated to protecting his loved ones in a corrupt town.

To date, the movie has a 68% fresh critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Although some critics couldn’t understand the point of the film, others thought the plot deserved some credit.

Guardian - Peter Bradshaw

“There is something weirdly pointless about it all, and there is a kind of tonal gap where, in another kind of film, the humor might go - which would counterweight the nasty violence. But it sure does pack a punch.”

Vanity Fair - Richard Lawson

“Most of The Devil All the Time is classist cruelty... Intricately crafted as it is, Campos's film is downright simple. It’s sloppy pulp packaged as prestige, which makes the meanness of its condescending gaze that much meaner.”

New York Times - Manohla Dargis

“There is little sense that the people in this world do anything but suffer or cause others to suffer in between working, church-going and occasionally popping out babies.”

Entertainment Weekly - Leah Greenblatt

“[Campos’] greatest feat may be that he was able to wrangle a story as ripe and unwieldy as Devil... toeing a tricky line between art-house atmosphere and Southern Gothic soap opera, and somehow still managing to land on the grim side of fascinating.”

RogerEbert.com - Brian Tallerico

“Give me a movie that bites off more than it can chew any time over one that doesn’t bite at all.”

Financial Times - Danny Leigh

“These characters aren’t circus acts - just desperate messes, only human like the rest of us. Amid the American Guignol, Campos finds actual pathos.”

Los Angeles Times - Justin Chang

“You can reject the conclusions of Campos’ movie, particularly its unrelenting pileup of dead bodies, and still take pleasure in its atmospheric surface.”

While critics weren’t crazy about the film though, it received an 89% rating from audiences. Some viewers and fans of the stars thought the movie deserves an Oscar nomination.

“Watching ‘The Devil All the Time’ just once again proves that at some point, in some world, Robert Pattinson needs an Oscar,” one fan tweeted.

Another fan added, “If Tom Holland doesn’t at least get an Oscar nom for ‘The Devil All the Time’ then what’s the point.”

Meanwhile, one fan admitted they weren’t crazy about the movie plot but insisted most of the stars deserved Academy Award nominations for their work in the film.

“Dude......... I loved ‘The Devil All the Time.’ The story needs some work, but the PERFORMANCES. God almighty! Not a single weak link. Oscar noms for Holland, Pattinson, Keongh, and Skarsgard, damnit,” the individual wrote.

“The Devil All the Time” is available for streaming on Netflix.