The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)

While Pattinson is reasonably interestin­g in his scenes, it is those featuring Clarke and Keough that truly crackle. Between their performanc­es and what their characters are doing, you wish theirs was a bigger component of the film.

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He is returning home after serving overseas in World War II, with psychologi­cally affecting wartime experience­s having included encounteri­ng a crucified Marine on the field of battle.

Willard meets and marries waitress Charlotte (Haley Bennett), and they have Arvin. When tragedy befalls the family, Arvin, unlike his father, makes a hard turn away from religion.

Now a young man, Arvin (Holland), even though he’s grown up — in Coal Creek, West Virginia, several hours away from Knockemsti­ff by car — is with another person orphaned years earlier, Lenora (Eliza Scanlen), who makes church a big part of her life. (Campos crafts a wonderful shot framed by the doorway of the church illustrati­ng how Lenora is drawn to religion while Arvin is intent on keeping his distance.)

And as it did a generation earlier, the possibilit­y of being drafted into the military to fight in a war — this time in Vietnam — looms large for Arvin and other men his age.

One thing his father did pass on to Arvin was a compulsion to teach bad people a hard, painful lesson. Give Lenora a hard time, and a young man soon is to encounter Arvin’s fists — or worse.

Thus, you wonder what is in store for the slicktalki­ng, good-looking new preacher at the church, Reverend Teagardin (Pattinson), who takes an immediate interest in the instantly captivated Lenora.

Although it will be a while before they encounter Arvin, we also spend time with married couple Carl (Jason Clarke) and Sandy (Riley Keough). They have, shall we say, an interestin­g little hobby involving the picking up of young male hitchhiker­s. We won’t say more than to tell you the couple refers to these targets as “models.”

Lastly, there’s Sandy’s corrupt sheriff brother, Lee (Sebastian Stan of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”), who’d encountere­d Arvin during a particular­ly dark day in his childhood. Lee is desperate to hold onto his power, but being beholden to criminals is making that increasing­ly difficult.

The acting in “The Devil All the Time” is generally strong, even if Holland brings a bit too much of Peter Parker’s aww-shucks vibe to Arvin. Still, Holland has given us another accessible character here.

While Pattinson is reasonably interestin­g in his scenes, it is those featuring Clarke (“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” “Terminator: Genisys”) and Keough (“The Girlfriend Experience,” “Logan Lucky”) that truly crackle. Between their performanc­es and what their characters are doing, you wish theirs was a bigger component of the film.

Instead, Campos (“Christine”) — from the screenwrit­ing process with his brother to the editing process with his wife, Sofia Subercaseu­x — gives us a little of a lot. By the time Arvin has had his last of several big confrontat­ions with other key characters, it doesn’t feel as though it is something meaningful to which the director has been building.

Relatedly, Arvin doesn’t have much of a character arc in “The Devil All the Time.” He seems to be largely the same person at the end he’s been the whole time — or at last since a monumental­ly bad day when he was a kid.

Considerin­g its strong cast, performanc­es, intriguing setting and uneasy moodiness, “The Devil All the Time” has something to offer, especially if you’re already a Netflix subscriber.

However, given its shortcomin­gs — and longerthan-average runtime — this one’s still a bit of devil’s bargain.

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