Say what you will about its release model, but Netflix is taking a lot of big swings in the world of movie-making. Last week, they released the trailer for Dan Gilroy’s Velvet Buzzsaw, which looks positively bugnuts. They announced another upcoming project on Wednesday: Antonio Campos’ The Devil All the Time, based on the novel by Donald Ray Pollock, with a truly insane all-star cast. Chris Evans, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Mia Wasikowska, Bill SkarsgÃ¥rd, and Eliza Scanlen will star in the adaptation, about a “serial killer couple, a faith-testing preacher, and a corrupt local sheriff in a story told across two decades.”
Chris Evans, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Bill Skarsgard, Mia Wasikowska, and Eliza Scanlen will star in “The Devil All The Time,†a midwestern gothic involving a serial killer couple, a faith-testing preacher, and a corrupt local sheriff in a story told across two decades pic.twitter.com/C0mMe0y2K7
— See What’s Next (@seewhatsnext) January 16, 2019
Pollock’s novel is a true American horror story about a faith-hysteric Ohio community and the ugly things that happen in the dark corners of America. The story spans decades, from post-WWII to the 1960s, and is mostly centered on the Russell family father, Willard, a tormented veteran whose twisted faith is constantly tested and his son, Arvin, caught in the muck of his family’s despair. We also spend time with Willard’s spider-handling preacher, Roy Lafferty, as well as Carl and Sandy Henderson, a serial killer couple who trawl the streets for victims.
That’s a sharp turn from the squeaky-clean Marvel superhero world, so it will be interesting to see how Evans and Holland look in this setting. Evans will play the sheriff role, with Holland as the troubled Arvin. Meanwhile, Twilight heartthrob Pattinson will take on the spider-loving preacher part, and Alice in Wonderland‘s Wasikowska will play one-half of the killer couple. No word yet on who SkarsgÃ¥rd and Scanlen will play, though I’d place my bets on SkarsgÃ¥rd as Carl Henderson and Scanlen as Lenora, Roy’s daughter who is raised with Arvin.
According to Variety, production will start next month in Alabama. No release date has been announced, but we’ll certainly have our eyes on this one. In the meantime, I’d urge you to catch up on The Sinner; Campos directed multiple episodes of the ultra-dark anthology crime series, which can give you a taste of what to expect with this one.
Images: Marvel/Disney/Sony
