Hands down, the coolest thing about The Devil All the Time is the fact that the movie is based on a book and that its original author joined the movie as its narrator. The gruff and serious tone of Donald Ray Pollock's voice really gives the film a level of shine and emotional tone that is hard to beat. However, the movie sadly lacks any other such element.
Instead, what is likely a densely woven book becomes a festival of bad things happening to people. From dull serial killers to cancers, suicides, and child abuse, the story of this massively depressing tale is made up out of numerous equally depressive snippets. Yet, they all come together in some shape, but that mosaic doesn't help its flat, emotionally-void delivery and the star cast doesn't help either. This is why The Devil All the Time feels like a dark comedy of absurd where someone simply forgot to add the funny parts.
