Netflix's new psychological thriller The Devil All the Time has become one of the platform's most popular recent releases. Debuting on September 16th, 2020, the film became the most-watched movie during its first two days and the third most-viewed over the first five days on the streamer.
Directed by Antonio Campos and starring Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Mia Wasikowska, Sebastian Stan, Bill Skarsgard, Jason Clarke, and Haley Bennett, the film overlaps several storylines and time-frames involving Southerners in rural Appalachia as they contend with religious fervor, escalating evil, and a raft of local corruption. Here's a closer look at the film's production history.
Partly Inspired By True Events
Although the film was scripted by Antonio Campos and his brother Paulo (his first screenplay), the story is adapted from the 2011 novel of the same name, written by author Donald Ray Pollock. While the movie isn't entirely true, Pollock drew on several real-life experiences he witnessed as a child for the story.
Specifically, Pollock told NPR that the opening scene of the film in which a nine-year-old Arvin witnesses his father brutally beat the insolent hunters was inspired by an incident he witnessed when he was 10. The experience nearly gave Pollock a nervous breakdown.
Narrated By Author
Speaking of Donald Ray Pollock, it is his voice that narrates The Devil All the Time. It's the first time in his career he has ever narrated a story, including the audio versions of his own books.
Pollock told The Columbus Dispatch that the Campos brothers approached him and asked if he was willing to record a few lines of dialogue into his cell phone and then asked if he wanted to narrate the film. The siblings also said the reason for the dialogue was to help guide the audience through the multi-decade timespan.
Location Moved From Ohio To Alabama
In the novel, the story is set in rural Ohio and West Virginia. Campos and his production team spent three years planning to film in Southern Ohio but was forced to follow the sun south to Alabama when an actor's schedule fell through. Filming lasted from February to April of 2019.
According to an interview with Rian Johnson in Interview Magazine, he said, "That's how we ended up in down in northern Alabama, which looks a lot like Southern Ohio and West Virginia. It's coal-mining country, the tip of Appalachia," adding, "The good part of shooting in Alabama is that, because nobody's shot there, everything feels fresh on-screen."
Michael Banks Repeta's Number One Fear
According to the same interview between Campos and Johnson, young actor Michael Banks Repeta (who plays young Arvin) and his parents boasted to the director about how unfrightened the boy is by monsters or horror movies. The only thing Banks admitted to being scared of is Pennywise, the killer-clown from It.
Ironically, Banks had no clue that Pennywise actor, Bill Skarsgard, was cast as his father in The Devil All the Time. Banks' parents told Campos not to tell him, and Campos told Skarsgard to keep the secret, as well. Skarsgard told Banks in the middle of shooting a crucial scene that he was the clown from It. While Campos couldn't confirm if it was related, Banks burst into tears before he was supposed to in the scene after hearing the news.
Chris Evans Originally Cast
The character of Deputy Lee Bodecker was originally set to be played by Chris Evans, who was forced to leave the production due to a scheduling issue. He was replaced by fellow MCU star, Sebastian Stan.
In addition to being the small-town Deputy, Bodecker is also the brother of Sandy Henderson (Riley Keough), an ill-fated woman married to the violent criminal Carl (Jason Clarke). Once Bodecker learns of his sister's situation, he goes to great lengths to protect her legacy.
Produced By Jake Gyllenhaal
In conjunction with longtime cinematic music-supervisor Randall Poster (who suggested the novel to Campos, to begin with), Jake Gyllenhaal produced The Devil All the Time. It's the eighth film Gyllenhaal has produced since 2012 after End of Watch, Nightcrawler, Hondros, Stronger, Wildlife, Relic, and Good Joe Bell.
As for Poster, he supervised Joe Exotic's country-western music on Netflix's runaway hit series Tiger King earlier this year.
Robert Pattinson's Preparation
In the film, Robert Pattinson plays the character Reverend Preston Teagarden, a clandestinely perverse clergyman with all sorts of sleazy ulterior motives. In preparation for the role, Pattinson drew from various sources of inspiration.
In particular, Pattinson studied televangelist preachers from the 1970s, as well as high-performing pop-stars from the era. Pattinson even came up with his own high-pitched Southern drawl without any help from a dialect coach.
Robert Pattinson's Southern Accent
Robert Pattinson not only conjured his own distinct Southern accent for his role as Reverend Teagarden, but he also kept the speech-pattern a secret from everyone on set, including Campos. Pattinson refused to train with a dialect coach and only revealed his accent during the first day of filming.
According to Insider.com, Campos claimed "Rob was impossible to get dialect coaching. He just didn't want to do it. He was adamant about figuring it out on his own." Campos also claimed several unused takes of Pattinson pushing the accent even further were filmed until "He makes himself laugh. It was about finding that sweet spot."
Real Spiders
One of the most disturbing scenes in the film comes when the creepy preacher, Roy Laferty (Harry Melling), dumps a jar of orb-spiders over his head in front of his congregation as a means of proving his faith.
According to USA Today, the clutter of hairy orb spiders seen in the film was 100 percent real. Melling told the publication that "they were live spiders. I was told beforehand they don't bite ... I took it in good faith." Melling added that "there was a bucket of them under a chair. We wanted to keep it quiet because we didn't want anyone to know how it was going to unfold."
Released Theatrically
Despite the ever-changing landscape of film exhibition in the current time of COVD-19, Netflix actually released The Devil All The Time in select theaters on Friday, September 11th, 2020, five days before the film debuted on the streaming platform.
Among the states in the U.S. to play the film theatrically include Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Ohio, Texas, and Utah. The early box-office returns for the film have not yet been made public.